River Kwai JEATH War Museum Kanchanaburi

Thailand Tour 2013

Kanchanaburi | Thailand

23 Oct 2013 | Wed

Day 07 of 43

River Kwai JEATH War Museum Kanchanaburi

River Kwai JEATH War Museum Kanchanaburi

The River Kwai JEATH War Museum in Kanchanaburi, Thailand is a must-visit for anyone interested in World War II history. The museum is dedicated to World War II and the atrocities that took place during the construction of the Burma-Siam Railway.

River-Kwai-War-Museum-01 — JEATH War Museum Kanchanaburi

The museum contains a collection of photographs, documents, and personal belongings of prisoners of war who were held at the camp. There is also a section devoted to the history of the River Kwai Bridge, which was built by Allied prisoners of war and became famous after it was featured in the 1957 movie The Bridge on the River Kwai.

The JEATH War Museum (Thai: พิพิธภัณฑ์อักษะเชลยศึก) is a war museum in Kanchanaburi, Thailand about the Death Railway built from 1942 to 1943 by Allied POWs under the direction of the Japanese, a part of the Thai-Burma railways.

The museum was founded in 1977 by the chief abbot of Wat Chaichumpol Venerable Phra Theppanyasuthee. It is located on the grounds of a temple at the junction of the Khwae Yai and Khwae Noi rivers in Kanchanaburi and it is a part of the famous The Bridge over the River Kwai saga.

The acronym JEATH stands for the primary nationalities involved in the construction of the railway: Japanese, English, Australian, American, Thai and Holland, whereas the Thai name is Phíphítháphan Songkhram Wát Tâi (Wat Tai War Museum).

The museum is divided into two sections, one depicting the construction of the Death Railway which is meant to recreate the quarters used by Allied POWs, and the other consisting of reconstructed bamboo huts containing such items as paintings, drawings and photos of and by former prisoners, weapons, tools, and maps.

– Wikipedia JEATH War Museum

Visitors to the museum can learn about the daily life of prisoners at the camp, as well as the atrocities that were committed there.