Forgotten promises constructing the civilian war memorial and settling the 'blood-debt'

Abstract

The Civilian War Memorial located in Singapore is dedicated to people who lost their lives during the Japanese Occupation, especially during an event known as the Sook Ching or a??purification through purgea??. However, it took more than twenty years for the memorial to be built. The major objective of the thesis is to chronicle how and why the Civilian War Memorial required more than twenty years between conception and construction. It describes the events and incidents surrounding the civilian war memorial plan and studies them through the prism of local politics, including Singaporea??s struggle toward nationhood.