FORMER FORD FACTORY
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This former assembly plant of the Ford car manufacturer now houses a museum retracing the 3-year Japanese occupation of Singapore during the Second World War. The site is highly symbolic in Singapore's history, as it was here that the surrender of Singapore to Japan was signed on February 15, 1942, between British General Percival and Japanese General Yamashita Tomoyuki. What few people also know is that this factory was designed in 1941 by French architect Emile Brizay, who lived in Singapore. Note the Art Deco elements of the façade. For Ford, present in Malaysia since 1926, this was the first automobile assembly plant in Southeast Asia. But just two months after the plant went into operation, the Japanese invasion began. During the occupation, the plant was requisitioned by the Japanese, and the Nissan conglomerate assembled its military trucks and other vehicles there. The plant ceased operations and was finally closed in 1980. Since 2006, the site has been considered a national monument and has been transformed into a museum. The tour begins with an explanation of the Ford factory's activities and the Singaporean way of life before the war. It continues with the fall of the city and a visit to the office where the surrender was signed. It continues with the Syonan-to period, the name given to the city by the Japanese, meaning "southern light". It ends with the legacy of war.
