Justice and Decolonization: War Crimes on Trial in Saigon, 1946–1950

Abstract

Informative abstract: In the aftermath of the Pacific War, France wished to regain its power in Asia and to become a player on the international scene. In Indochina, the Japanese had dismantled the French colonial administration, enabling the implementation of the decolonization process. At the Saigon Military Court, the French prosecution of Japanese war crimes was entangled in the Vietnamese fight for independence. The French pursuit of justice aimed not only at accusing Japan of war crimes but also of its suppression of the French colonial presence in Southeast Asia.