Annotation source: Seoul Metropolitan Archive
Image link: https://international.ucla.edu/media/files/US-1-ATIS-Interrogation-Report-No.-395-oa-fhu.pdf
ANNOTATION
Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) was an allied intelligence agency of the U.S. and Australia that operated in the South West Pacific, including in the Philippines. Major tasks of ATIS were to translate documents captured from the enemy, to interrogate prisoners of war (POWs), and to publish and distribute interrogation reports of POWs.
This is an ATIS interrogation report no. 395, dated September 10, 1944. This report was created based on the information obtained from the interrogation of a Japanese army medical officer from Okinawa. He was captured as a POW in Talasea, west of New Britain Island. This particular POW had been stationed in the Philippines from January 1 to November 27 in 1942, and in New Britain Island thereafter. He provided detailed information about the Japanese military's medical system and the military information in New Britain Island and the Philippines, including the comfort stations in the Philippines. He said that there were ten comfort stations in Manila, Philippines, some of which were managed by the Japanese military. The "comfort women" were Koreans, Filipinos, Taiwanese and Japanese and the women were divided by their nationalities in different comfort stations with different levels of monitoring systems. Officers and the men had different schedules and the rates. Medical doctors examined women weekly for venereal diseases and inspected if each room was equipped with the supplies to prevent venereal diseases. He also mentioned that there were four to five comfort stations in Rabaul in which Korean, Chinese and Japanese women were stationed where a same management system was used.
Contributors
[Organization] Seoul National University, Chin-sung Chung Research Team, 2015~
[Organization] Seoul National University, Chin-sung Chung Research Team, 2015~
[Organization] National Archives and Records Administration 1934~
[Organization] City of Seoul, Women and Family Policy Affairs Office 2011~
#ATIS #establishment #Rabaul #Papua_New_Guinea #1944
LESSON PLAN
Note to teachers:
1. The discussion questions below are designed based on the original document, not the annotation. Teachers are recommended to use the primary document in teaching, instead of the annotation. However the annotation provides useful background information for teachers when the prepare for the lesson.
2. The scaffolded questions below are designed based on the cover page, top half of page 7, and the "Brothels" section (pp. 15-16).
Explain the following words to your students before asking them to read the required sections:
- ATIS: Allied Translator and Interpreter Section. ATIS was an allied intelligence agency of the U.S. and Australia that operated in the South West Pacific, including in the Philippines. Major tasks of ATIS were to translate documents captured from the enemy, to interrogate prisoners of war (POWs), and to publish and distribute interrogation reports of POWs.
- brothel: a house where men can visit prostitutes. It refers to the comfort stations in the document.
- Formosa: nowadays Taiwan
- MO: medical officer
- NCO: non-commissioned officers
- prophylactic: intended to prevent disease
- PW: prisoner of war
- Rabaul: a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea
- yen: Japanese currency. The current symbol is ¥.
Direct students to read the cover page:
1. What kind of document is this?
2. What are the physical characteristics of this document?
a. Is it handwritten or typed?
b. Are there any marks? If so, what are they?
c. Any other physical features do you notice?
d. Does any of these physical characteristics interest you?
3. What's the title of the document?
4. Who wrote it?
5. Who's the audience of the document?
6. When was it created?
7. What was the historical context in East Asia during the time?
Direct students to read the top half of page 7:
8. What's the prisoner of war's rank? What's his specialty?
9. When and where was he captured? By who?
10. What else do you know about him?
Direct students to read the "Brothels" section (pp.15-16):
11. According to this prisoner of war, how many comfort stations were there in Manila? How many in Rabaul?
12. What nationalities of "comfort women" were mentioned?
13. Were these "comfort women" managed the same way? What does it tell you?
14. What was the rate and schedule like?
15. Why do you think the medical officers had to inspect the comfort stations regularly?
16. The Japanese government has been claiming that it bears no legal or official responsibility for the "comfort women" victims. Based on this document, do you think the claim is defendable? Why or why not?
17. What additional questions do you have for this document?
18. Where/How can you find the answers?
* This lesson plan was designed by Jing Williams, Associate Professor of Social Studies Education at University of South Dakota.