In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, We speak with Jenny Chan, historian and co-founder of Pacific Atrocities Education, about the overlooked history of the Asia–Pacific theatre of the Second World War and its impact on today’s geopolitics.
Jenny explains how her grandmother’s experience under Japanese occupation shaped her interest in history, and why much of the Pacific War remains absent from Western education. She discusses the thirty million deaths across Asia, the fall of Hong Kong on “Black Christmas”, and the strategic decisions that allowed many Japanese wartime figures to avoid justice after 1945.
The conversation also explores how authoritarian fanaticism emerges, how democracies sometimes compromise on their values, and why honest historical memory is vital for defending free societies today.
Topics Covered
• Family history and personal motivation
Jenny’s grandmother, wartime Hong Kong, and the loss of the family’s fortune during the occupation.
• Why the Pacific War is forgotten
Western-centric teaching, focus on Hitler, and a lack of coverage of the Asian continent’s devastation.
• Unit 731 and wartime atrocities
Biological experimentation, comfort women, and how key perpetrators avoided prosecution.
• Post-war geopolitical choices
Cold War alliances, immunity deals, and the rehabilitation of wartime elites and corporations.
• Fanaticism and failed civilian control
Military dominance in pre-war Japan and the collapse of moderate voices.
• How democracies respond to brutality
Operation Paperclip, moral compromises, and long-term consequences.
• Historical memory and revisionism
The dangers of online denialism, extremist nostalgia, and why younger audiences seek deeper history.
• Modern Asia–Pacific tensions
Japan’s rearmament, China’s military build-up, and rising risks around Taiwan.
• Democracy, freedom and peace
Jenny’s reflections on why peace is essential to preserving democratic values.
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