During the Japanese Empire's occupation of Singapore during the Pacific War (1942–1945), thousands of ethnic Chinese were killed in the Sook Ching massacre.

In an effort to remove anti-Japanese elements in Singapore, Chinese men between the ages of 18 and 50 were to report to the Kempeitai, the Imperial Japanese Army military police.

On 13 March 1963, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew set aside a plot of land at Beach Road for the building of a memorial dedicated to the civilians killed in World War II.

The four identical pillars, each 70 metres (230 ft) high, represent the shared experiences and unity of the four major races of Singapore;– Chinese, Eurasian, Indian and Malay.

On 15 June 1963, Lee Kuan Yew performed the ground-breaking ceremony of "turning (or breaking) the sod" to lay the foundation for the memorial witnessed by a gathering of representatives from the Inter-Religious Organisation and members of the consular corps.