Cambodia in World War II: Son Ngoc Thanh, Imperial Japan and a Brief Independence

On the night of March 9th, 1945, Japanese forces across Indochina moved against the French administration they had coexisted with for five years. By morning the colonial order was suspended, and Cambodia found itself (briefly, and almost by accident) independent.

Time Period Covered: 1939 – 1945

What is the Umbrella Revolt in Cambodia? How do nationalists like Son Ngoc Thanh react to the rise of Imperial Japan? And how does Norodom Sihanouk become king in 1941, at nineteen years old?

This episode is an in-depth discussion of the events in Cambodia and Vietnam once the French presence in Indochina was diminished by Imperial Japan. Cambodian nationalism becomes a genuine force within the country. Monks protest, and some join revolutionary movements. The young men and women who will eventually form the core of the Khmer Rouge witness the world transform radically in just six years. The rise of the Viet Minh, the declaration of an independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and the famous speech Ho Chi Minh makes to mark the occasion conclude the episode.

Sources
 Philip Short Pol Pot: History of a Nightmare
David Chandler The Tragedy of Cambodian History and A History of Cambodia
Ben Kiernan How Pol Pot Came to Power and Viet Nam
Milton Osborne Sihanouk
Ho Chi Minh Declaration of Independence
Christopher Goscha Vietnam: A New History