Podcast
Forbidden Diary: True WWII Prison Survival Story
Hosted by Sai Mun Gani Productions · EN
Audio-drama based on a WWII diary written by Natalie Crouter during her internment in a Japanese prison camp in the Philippines.
Three weeks after the first bombings of the Philippines on December 8, 1941, Natalie, her family, and 500 civilians were marched at gunpoint to a deserted U.S. military post (Season One: 1941). Thus began their survival of body and mind from 1942 to 1945. Natalie’s story is a fascinating, real-life view of wartime captivity and a gripping tale of courage, tenacity, and hope.
Included are interviews with Jim Zobel, historian and archivist at the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, VA, and Curt Brooks who was interned in a civilian prison in Manila during WWII.
The cover art incorporates a sketch entitled, "The Double Fence," by Fern Harrington Miles. To read about Fern and other prison artists interned with Natalie, go to www.storiestovoice.com/fd-artist-credits.
Original artifacts, prison art and Natalie's original diary entry, can be viewed by going to www.storiestovoice.com/fd-listen and clicking on See Pictures. You can also see the Forbidden Diary cast by going to www.storiestovoice.com/fd-cast.
17episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
1944, Part 1 - Episode 27: The Wise Prince (SEASON FINALE)
Nov 1800:49:13Tap to summarizeNatalie hosts Japanese class in her underground cubicle. Mr. Tomibe struggles to stop the name calling in Camp. The Crouters fight over food. Natalie helps Nida. High Command punishes Mr. Tomibe.The audio of children singing A Sailor Went to Sea is courtesy of the 14th Henrietta Street Museum, Dublin, Ireland. https://14henriettastreet.ie.To see the Forbidden Diary cast, go to www.storiestovoice.com/fd-cast.Support the show
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1944, Part 1 - Episode 26: Going Underground
Nov 400:38:33Tap to summarizeNatalie pitches a very public fit over people rejecting family living and finds herself having to explain why to Bedie. The Crouters and other families dig living spaces under the barracks. Mr. Tomibe reads a story to Miss McKim’s Japanese class.To see the Forbidden Diary cast, go to www.storiestovoice.com/fd-cast.Support the show
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1944, Part 1 - Episode 25: Consequences
Oct 2100:43:56Tap to summarizeThe Kempeitai interrogate and torture three internees (Gene, Bill and Jim) whom they suspect of helping Wick and Ritchie escape. Mr. Tomibe intercedes and rescues them. Nida, Auntie and Jorge talk about Filipinos being tortured in town. Mr. Tomibe gives Jim a poignant gift.To see the Forbidden Diary cast, go to www.storiestovoice.com/fd-cast.Support the show
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1944, Part 1 - Episode 24: No Good Deed
Oct 700:38:02Tap to summarizeMr. Tomibe allows a couple to get married in Camp and tries to improve life for prisoners while following High Command’s draconian rules. Japanese soldiers are upset about the prisoners’ bad manners, and Mr. Tomibe implores prisoners not to escape. To see the Forbidden Diary cast, go to www.storiestovoice.com/fd-cast.Support the show
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1944, Part 1 - Episode 23: Internment-itus
Sep 1700:32:48Tap to summarizeMr. Tomibe tries to help prisoners get food from the outside and allows married couples to live together. Natalie is dumbstruck that half of the Camp is against Mr. Tomibe's Family Unit Plan. Letters from home finally arrive, and Peg gets a special surprise.To see the Forbidden Diary cast, go to www.storiestovoice.com/fd-cast.Support the show
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1944, Part 1 - Episode 22: Back to the Bad Old Days
Sep 300:44:05Tap to summarizePrisoner escapes and worries about MacArthur returning to the Philippines and has High Command clamping down on internment camps, sending new rules that Mr. Tomibe must enforce. Prisoners learn more about Mr. Tomibe. Nida hears news about her husband Ismael. To see the Forbidden Diary cast, go to www.storiestovoice.com/fd-cast.Support the show
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1944, Part 1 - Episode 21: Heroic Medicine
Jul 3100:44:28Tap to summarizeJune becomes deathly ill. More Red Cross packages are distributed, including medical packages with a new medical supply called plasma which Camp doctors try on June. A new invention saves the day, an internee dies, and Mr. Tomibe expressed his deep condolences.To see the Forbidden Diary cast, go to www.storiestovoice.com/fd-cast.Support the show
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1944, Part One - BINGE Season Four (Episodes 21 - 27)
Jul 104:42:47Tap to summarizeIncludes all seven episodes in Season Four, Part One, without the recaps.To see the Forbidden Diary cast, go to www.storiestovoice.com/fd-cast.Support the show
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1943 - Episode 20 Epilogue: Interview with MacArthur Memorial Archivist
Jun 2600:16:26Tap to summarizeArchivist and historian Jim Zobel tells riveting stories about what was going on outside of Camp Holmes during the last half of 1943. Jim talks about MacArthur’s covert operations to rescue civilians, keep Filipinos on the side of the Americans, and destroy the Japanese occupation economy. Zobel offers insights into why the guards at Camp Holmes thought Japan was losing the War as early as 1943 and which rumors circulating around Camp were actually true. You can view paintings and sketches drawn by people who were interned with Natalie by clicking See Pictures under the episode descriptions at www.storiestovoice.com/fd-listen-1943.To see the Forbidden Diary cast, go to www.storiestovoice.com/fd-cast.Support the showSupport the show
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1943 - Episode 20: Red Cross Rescue
Aug 28, 202400:40:08Tap to summarizeThe Camp hospital runs out of beds for dysentery patients. Bedie is discharged too early from the hospital causing Natalie and Jerry to question his health care. Food shortages reduce good pickings from the garbage as prisoners pray that the Red Cross Christmas kits will arrive from Manila. Nida’s world is turned upside down, and Camp Holmes gets a new commandant.You can view artifacts as well as paintings and sketches drawn by people who were interned with Natalie by clicking See Pictures under the episode descriptions at www.storiestovoice.com/fd-listen-1943.To see the Forbidden Diary cast, go to www.storiestovoice.com/fd-cast.Support the show
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