LINKS PAGE

The Colony during WW2
Pakan Baroe Death railway
Massacres and Atrocities of WWII in the Pacific Region
Japanse burgerkampen
GASTDOCENTEN WOII Organisation
Dutch ex service
BRITISH POWs IN JAVA
Anthea's Page
Baros 6
Life and Death on the Death Railway Through the Jungle of Sumatra by American prisoner of war George Duffy
Journal Australian nurse experience

Dutch history in Indonesia
The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942
VAN DE KOLONIE NIETS DAN GOEDS Nederlands(film)
Indonesia, the country my mother was born
dutch maps
Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) - Royal Tropical Institute
KITLV/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies
Van Indië tot Indonesië
Index www.londoh.com ( V.O.C. resources)

Archival Resources
Indisch Filmarchief - Netherlands Indies Movie Archives
/indies photo album
Het Geheugen van Nederland
Semarang Photo Archives, Semarang Foto Archief, Arsip Indonesia Film Sound
World War II Balikpapan Attack Stock Footage ; Public Domain Stock Footage Library.
nederlands-indie.startpagina.nl
NIFF - official homepage

Important discoveries

Nederlands Indische Film Festival happened October last year
NIFF - official homepage
Check it out.... much has been done in this subject area. Much material regarding the colony. I would advise that we seek some preview copies so we can see what has been done. Am emailing them today

Along with that.. I found this link to a private list of internees at Tjideng
Anthea's Page
browse it thoroughly and check out the links... its a private list of some people mostly english speaking but some dutch are listed. There are evidently a lot of drawings of the camp interior at a museum in the Hague
Museon

Last but not least there is a statistical page which appears to be quite accurate
it has a lot of references to other accounts which should be pursued at some point
use babel fish to translate this
Japanse burgerkampen

Root Races and Racism in 1800's

Get a handle on Theosophy's principle mythos, the evolutionary travels of Humanity
in the this wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_Race
It has been perhaps the most misused and easily confused tenet of TS.
The Secret Doctrine is very open to interpretation. Reading it for just one hour was enough obscurantic nonsense for a lifetime. I think Blavatsky was definately racist, in albeit a soft and fashion, she was a product of the times after all.. I am certainly seeking sources on the accusation of anti-semitism on her part. Check the chapter on Theosophy here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan_race
I don't blame her for bad usage of her concepts, particularly Hitlers. Theosophy is paternal in its racism not genocidal. But I think Theosophy has suffered historically for it. Blavatsky believed in the caste system, she believed in the Tzar, opposed socialism, she also believed that their were tiers of racial development, adult and child races, of which Aryans were the adults. Rudolph Steiner steered away from racialist views and adopted a cultural model, I think he realised the end result of books like "The Secret Doctrine" and was a lot more careful with his wording. This has given him a somewhat less problematic reputation than Blavatsky's, but if we look at both of these systems, Theosophy and Anthroposophy, we can find the grist for white supremacism in various parts.

Check out this amazing log of racism during the 19th century
http://www.geocities.com/ru00ru00/racismhistory/19thcent.html
It's an eye opener to see racism making intellectual inroads in parallel to the birth of modernity and the ascent of science. The Nazi philosophy used both science and esoteric doctrine typical to the previous century, in this sense it was an original form of racism. Race mysticism on the other hand can be seen as a part of the archaic revival favoured by fascists both German and Japanese.

Dutch East Indies Film Project and Babelfish

This site belongs to The Dutch Indonesian Film Archives who will be close to our hearts in the near future. Its the "Films" pages text explaining their content. (PS. Check out the links page as it is very good)

http://www.geocities.com/indischfilmarchief/film.htm

I have translated the page above with "Babel Fish" an online translator powered by Systrans
It comes out as this (look below).... Bad grammar but one can get the gist... Use an online dictionary for the rest, You can browse with Babelfish once you have entered a URL.. its just slower...

First films

Just like the english and the french in their colonies, also the Dutch started film after 1910 on always larger scale in India. The prerecordings which they made there have nearly always the character of a documentary. Real speelfilms in the modern sense of the word were not made, some an exception apart from. Thus around 1915 a very briefly lasting film was made with the title "Mina, the service little girl, will inkoopen do", in which a Javanese woman house is sent by its European mistress to the market to do messages there. Underway she comes her pleased against as a result of which Mina forget the time entirely. If she comes eventually at home its mistress is so angry that Mina - perhaps definite - are sent away. Striking in this small film is, what concerns the beginning and end that there none some can exist doubt for the spectator that the European woman, the mistress, superior are to Mina, the "stupid" native woman. This clear bipartition in the status of the European and those of the domestic population is not independent. In nearly every film of for the years 20, and frequently also in films of later dating, this picture is recognizable. In many cases this picture is still underlined tussentitels as "Balinese is filial in its belief" and "Menschen from the steenen era".

Euro-centrism

To put that the Indian filmgenre could only qualified as European-propagandist and possibly even as racist however a crooked picture creates. A better approach is speak of euro-centrisme. It is the European who is in India present and it seems from time to time only occasional be that there also still a domestic population exists. In 1920, there were about 168,000 Europeans in India on a population of 40 millions "indonesiërs"; if we the film pictures will have believe be read its these figures, published in 1930 foutief and must correctly the other way around. Nevertheless there more interest in the domestic population arose as from 1920. Filmoperateurs went along on exploring forwardings to borneo, Sumatra and later also nieuw-Guinea where the inheemsen with much curiosity examined and were filmed. When halfway the years 20 tourism on bali started himself develop, many films which were shown abroad - mainly in the United States - in cinemas as promofilmpje, were shot also there.

Company films, private Recordings and the end

In the same decade also individuals discovered, in the beginning especially ventures and later also amateurs, the possibilities of the film. On large scale proceeded to commit of only scope promotion films to let manufacture of own bldg. and production process. Much of the films which are now still kept for this reason concern the processing of sugar sheer, sisal, tea, rubber and quinine. The amateur films made in nederlands-Indië have been then defined clear of a another type above. We frequently see familiekiekjes, made during trips, festivals or other special occasions. Although appalling many of this type films are made, the largest part has disappeared of this after 1942 then definitively an end came to the amateurfilmen by the Japanese irruption. The films which anno 2003 are kept have remained products nearly all for the second world war already in the Netherlands. Generally it one or two concerns short film roles which have been taken along by Europeans from India for family members in our country. Unfortunately also this ensure has not been possible that all these unique films are kept have remained. Many people have supposedly disposed of, ignorance, the old film roles or express verstoffen on spots with large temperatuurschommelingen such as attics and cellars. In the past ten years the attention for old has been frequently deeply put away and sometimes also forgets small films has increased. Formerly it only the well-known Indian amateur film expert Jan Brocades Zaalberg was who kept himself - moreover successfully - busy with collecting and conserving 8mm and 16mm films, later the NIOD did that research to "Indian home-movies" and nowadays Indian film file that will make film prerecordings with an unique set-up (to see "aim" and "films") accessibly for those whom they want see.

Correspondence with Robert Rouveray

Of http://www.rouveroy.com/


On May 10, 2007, at 8:46 AM, Dean McInerney wrote

Dear Robert.

I enjoyed you site and found your collection of pictures very helpful. I am currently researching an animated documentary currently in development here in Melbourne Australia. The subject is the diaries of Herman Fokker, a civilian dutch-german and an inmate of a couple of Civillian POW camps in Java and Sumatra, and who died in Sumatra. He was first interned in Tjimahi near Surabaya in Java and died in a camp near Palembang Sumatra, (Not sure what one it was...). His Grandson-in-law is producing a film out of the diaries and I am gathering a clearer picture of what these camps were like.

There are so many questions I would like to ask. Keeping any form of record was in some cases very clandestine and possibly fatal. In the case of Herman he was forbidden to write about the future... This is what he does... what is lacking is much description about what actually happened inside. I get the feeling he was protecting his loved ones from pain...
Can you help me by pointing me in the right direction... Maybe I can call you and we can talk some time over the phone.

Yours
Dean McInerney


On 5/15/07, Robert Rouveroy wrote:

Dear Dean,

Thanks for your flattering observations on my site. I wish I could help you, but the camps differed very much in treatment. It often mirrored the local sentiments of the natives and the Japanese were very quick to respond to that, resulting in widely diverse situations for the camp internees.

For instance, Tjimahi camp was actually a former Dutch Army base, situated near Bandoeng (West Java, approx. 1000 miles west of Surabaya (East Java). The natives there, Sundanese, were quite friendly towards the Dutch, so Tjimahi camp was rather relaxed. Towards the end of the war most Tjimahi detainees were scattered to other camps and the gentleman you named, Herman Fokker, ended up in Palembang. Now there was quite a different situation. Food became very scarce, also for the natives, as most food, rice, animals, were shipped to Japan. Out of frustration because of the imminent Japanese defeat the treatment became more extreme and many died. I cannot say how that particular camp was: I was interned about another 1200 or so miles north of Palembang, at Sirengo-rengo, south of Medan on Sumatra's East Coast.

The Allied soldiers, the POW's suffered the most, I'm told that the Aussies were particularly sought out by the Japanese as you must have read many accounts of the atrocities inflicted on them. My brother was a Dutch soldier who worked on the infamous Pakan Baru railroad and barely made it out alive. But he was one of the lucky ones, lived until he was 89 years and has died recently. My mother died in Aek Pamienke, a women's camp. My sisters are still living, 82 and 84, myself 80 years young.

You will find a very well written account exhaustively researched, of the horrors of the Pakan Baroe railroad called: "Last Stop Pakan Baru", written by Henk Hovinga, a well respected historian who wrote down the stories as told to him by the survivors. It can be had from him on a DVD In English, profusely illustrated with (I think) more than 150 drawings, photographs etc. It will give you an excellent idea how it was in those camps.

You should contact him here: henk.hovinga@tiscali.nl

Thank you again for your interest. It is easy to forget what happened all these years ago for those who have not experienced it. I hope this will help you in your endeavors with your film. Please feel free to contact me if you need to know more.

Yours truly,
Robert Rouveroy

On 15 May 2007, at 4.30PM; Dean McInerney wrote...

Dear Robert

Thanks for the response, and thanks for the clarification regarding the cause and fate of Palembang. There is a lot of discrepancies in the information left by Hermann. I believe that Henk Hovinga has been contacted by my research partner already, and the DVD/CD-ROM is around and I will get a chance to read it soon. We are certainly referring to the drawings as they are the only surviving portraits of the interiors of these places.

Perhaps Hermann was actually spared the kind of horrors you read about. Naturally there are differences between camps, interesting that you think the Japanese acted according to the prevailing local indigenous sentiment. Does that mean that the Commander in each camp restrains his own individual attitude and follows such dictates. I realise that the Japanese Military is a pretty uniform and rigid hierarchy, even as far as any military is... but even so. I find the politics between Japan and the Nationalists in Indonesia during the War baffling. Acting as anti-imperial avengers, synchronising their actions to be in concord with local people, yet working thousands of young Indonesian men to death (with Soekarno's approval).

I'm also interested in your comment about Australians being singled out for brutality... Who told you that one... I am curious. If you read the compendium of WWII atrocities in the pacific campaign, you notice a lot of Australians getting killed. Australians were hardly imperialists at the time, it makes me wonder what was happening.

Cheers

Dean


15/5/07
Dear Dean,

A few misconceptions of course. What happened was that the Japanese Army was very thinly spread in Indonesia. You may appreciate that, while Indonesia is mostly sea, distances are like in Australia. So, they used hastily trained natives, called Hei-ho's to guard the camps, together with Korean draftees. Those were the worst, the Hei-ho's were used to the Dutch and in many cases were muck kinder towards the (civilian) detainees. And in the beginning of the occupation they thought that the Dutch might come back to power, so they acted accordingly.

The situation of the Romusha's, the 'volunteer' Indonesian workers was also quite different at first. They were asked to work for a "greater Indonesia" and were promised land. Most of them came from densely populated Java with little expectations of gainful employment and were sent to sparsely populated Sumatra and Kalimantan. So they did think this was a great opportunity indeed. Only, food was scarce all over as the Japanese stripped Indonesia bare of nearly all natural resources to ship them to Japan. So, internees in the camps were fed, if sparsely, but the Romusha's were in the end left to fend for themselves and as a result, hundreds of thousands died a miserable death. It is one of the great (and little known) horrors of WWII, not adequately researched. I do have an Indonesian recruitment film made in 1943 or thereabouts. You're welcome to it if you're interested. BTW, as far as I know, Sukarno did not initiate this.

You should understand a little of the "bushido" attitude of the Japanese. They had great respect for bravery and always bowed deep before an enemy-before lopping off his head if the opportunity arrised. It so happened that many Dutch (professional) soldiers left the Dutch East Indies after 1941, to fight the Germans, leaving the Dutch East Indies Army (KNIL) greatly depleted. The then government had mostly trained natives, mostly Ambonese soldiers, augmented by hastily mobilized civilians with little or no training, our so-called weekend soldiers. They were supposed to stop battle-hardened Japanese soldiers with 12 years service in China and Korea.

So, the Indies were quickly overrun. The Dutch army surrendered and as POW's were put to work, even shipped off to Japan to work in the coal mines near Nagasaki. Many of them died at sea because the Jap ships were sunk by submarines who often did not know there were POW's on board. The way that the Japanese saw the Dutch soldiers was that they were cowards as they met little resistance. Accordingly, they had little respect for them.

The Australians were a different bunch. Initially shipped to defend Singapore, they ended up after its fall on Java or Borneo and the Spice Islands. They kept on fighting, harassing the Japanese and were generally a pain in Japan's butt. So when they were captured, they were treated with respect and, if judged guilty, dispatched with ceremony. Sometimes excesses occurred, at one occasion a group of Aussies were herded inside an abandoned mine and the entrance was bombed shut. A Google search will tell you more, also, check my "LINKS" page. And quite a few movies were made of such incidents: you can find them on IMDB.

I've hated the Japanese for a long time. They stole my youth, they killed my mother. I did not understand them. About 5 years ago I visited Japan with a group of Dutch intend to try to get reparations for the losses we suffered. What we saw was a totally different country than we had imagined. I made a film of my impressions, culminating in a confrontation with an ex-camp commander. He denied all and every thing that had happened in those camps. The dichotomy in my feelings still bothers me. I keep on hating the old guard, but the new, young Japan is alright.

But I was glad to leave the country behind. I never want to visit there again.

Robert

...a sea of time quickly evaporates...

Great Links

This is a collection of good links....

For a horrifying summation of all known Pacific WWII atrocities (almost ALL Japanese). The Author is very anti-japanese but thats fine by me.
http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/massacres_pacific.html

A fantastic image bank of Dutch Indonesia but unfortunately a slow and clumsy browsing experience due to language, bandwidth and design issues. Note well that the word "bladeren" means browse and "zoeken" means search and the "Themas" (themes) toolbar contains the index of galleries. Groot means great or big an dindicates the pics come in a bigger size
http://www.geheugenvannederland.nl/gvnNL/handler.cfm


Dutch National Film Archives
http://www.filmmuseum.nl/website/exec/frontpageread/

List and links for POW camps in Sumatra and Java

http://www.mansell.com/pow_resources/camplists/list_2.html#anchor386526

BBC Peoples War - Sumatran and Javanes Stories

From Indonesian War Archives
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/categories/c54592/

FAMILY JAPANESE IDENTIFICATION CARD ISSUED TO US ON ENTERING THE CONCENTRATION CAMP.

My experiences in Japanese Concentration Camps on Java, Indonesia (former Dutch East Indies)
1941 — 1945

J.E.H. Rijkee

INTRODUCTION

At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbour, on the 7th of December 1941, we were living near the town of PALEMBANG in the South of Sumatra, Indonesia.

My father was an engineer working for the SHELL.
Soon after Pearl Harbour, women and children were evacuated to Java. My father had to stay behind to assist in destroying the oil installations. My mother, sister and myself traveled first by train and then by ship to Java.

We crossed the Strait of Sunda between Sumatra and Java and had to stay on deck with our life jackets on for the duration, the reason being the danger of Japanese submarines.

Our journey ended in the town of MALANG in East Java, where three weeks later my father joined us.

In MALANG we stayed in a house with another family who had two older boys.
During the air raid warning we sheltered in the garage and through the side door we could see in the distance the dog fights over the Malang Air base.

After the war I read that SABURO SAKAI,one of Japans famous fighter pilots, fought over this air base.

In June 1942 my father was picked up to be interned in a concentration camp for men.
Later that year we were interned in DISTRICT MALANG (a housing estate surrounded by a barbed wire fence)

NB:
I have carried out some research at the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives at King’s College, London.
I used the SALEX MASTIFF Report written by Wing Commander T.S. Tull M.B.E. which is at this centre. As Officer in charge of a parachuting team he was dropped at Magelang, Central Java. His orders were to safeguard and help the 24000 APWI's (Allied Prisoners of War and Internees) until the arrival of the Allied Forces to accept the Japanese surrender.
This report gives an accurate description of our liberation by the British.

The abbreviation CIC ( Civil Internment Camp) denotes the official numbering of the Japanese Camps all over the Pacific.

CIC 289: DISTRIC MALANG (Housing Estate) East Java

This was our first internment camp and we stayed there from July 1942 until November 1943.
In this camp we were living in a house with several other families.

The food situation was gradually getting worse but we still had a bit of privacy and space.

In November 1943 we were transferred to
CIC 254: KARANGPANAS in SEMARANG (North Coast of Central Java)

CIC 254: KARANGPANAS SEMARANG (Central Java)

Although the distance was only 500 miles the train took two days to get to
SEMARANG. We had only hand luggage and hardly any food or water with us. During the journey the train would stop for hours on end in the searing heat.
A lot of people became ill and because it was so crowded you could not move or
use the bathroom.

When we reached KARANGPANAS camp I was mentally so affected by this journey that I was brought to a make-shift “hospital”.
This “hospital” was just an empty room without any furniture.

Since our other luggage never arrived, I and many others, had to lay on the
cement floor.
After three weeks I was allowed to leave the “hospital” and join my mother and sister in a barrack.

In the barrack there was a long continuous plank bed alongside both walls. Each person was allocated 20 inch (50 cm) of space. No more space or privacy.
This was a real concentration camp.
The food situation was terrible and you never knew when food would be next handed out.

In this camp a lot of the men were already very old and since they were dying like flies my mother managed to obtain mattresses for us.
The dead were carried to the make-shift morgue on a stretcher covered with a white sheet and when I asked what was happening I was told that the person was asleep.

For the rest of the war we had to make do with only our hand luggage.

In June 1944 we were transferred by bus to
CIC 256: CAMP 6 AMBARAWA - (Central Java)

CIC 256: CAMP 6 AMBARAWA - (Central Java)

This camp was better organized than the previous one. However it was a very crowded camp. Space per person was now 18 inches (45 cm).
The food situation was still very bad but at least they gave you something twice a day.

Many times we were chased out of the barracks, when the Japanese wanted to search for forbidden articles such as money, pencils, paper, diaries, gold items etc.
I managed to hide my father’s signet ring by putting it on one of my toes and covering it with dirt or mud.

Since by this time the older boys were sent to the camps for men, all the menial jobs were done by the younger ones.
This was the only camp where I had to work. The hardest job was cutting grass between the barracks which was done by using a kitchen knife. One day when I was cutting grass I put my knife down for a moment to rest. Somebody then stole my knife, which was a major disaster because my mother had now only one knife left.

The lightest but most frightening job was sweeping the Japanese quarters near the gate. Not only were the Dutch inmates punished there but also Indonesians from outside the camp.

One day while I was sweeping, two Japanese were beating an Indonesian gentleman with bamboo sticks. When the blood was pouring out of his mouth one Japanese got an old food tin to collect the blood. They then forced the man to drink his own blood.

Another time when I was sweeping the Japanese Commander’s bedroom, he came rushing in and ushered me outside pointing to a high flying British or U.S. war plane. He then forced me to hide under his bed. I suppose he wanted to convince me that the plane was the real enemy.
When I finished cleaning his bedroom he gave me a biscuit.

In May 1945 we walked with our belongings to
CIC 262: AMBARAWA 8 - (Central Java)

CIC 262: AMBARAWA 8 - (Central Java)

This was a work camp for making rope.

However the situation became so bad food wise that not many people were able to work.
My mother became seriously ill and had given up. My sister and I had to fend for ourselves.

Then the Atomic Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

We did not know what was happening in the world. The food situation suddenly improved and my mother pulled through.

On the 22nd of August the camp commander held a speech in the Indonesian language which I could understand. He told us that the Emperor of Japan had the pleasure in telling us that he had decided to end the war.

When the gate was opened there was a crowd of local Indonesian people to welcome us.
I was adopted by an Indonesian couple. They gave me extra food and I could have a shower every day.

My father managed to reach our camp thanks to the Red Cross.

However after a couple of weeks the Muslim Militia was infiltrating the area. They were forcing the Indonesian population to stop helping us. In those days these Militia were called extremists or permoeda’s, nationalists, T.K.R. Indo’s etc.

They all had their own agenda and sometimes were fighting each other. It became very dangerous to leave the camp. Many people who did were kidnapped and murdered. The Japanese were ordered to protect us. When the English troops landed a real shooting war started with tanks, planes(Typhoons) heavy guns etc.

The Japanese under the command of Major KIDO fought shoulder to shoulder with the British against the Indonesian uprising. The seven camps in and around Ambarawa were attacked by thousands of Idonesian rebels which prevented any food transport. Because of this we were supplied by Dakota's dropping food containers by parachutes.
This is all described in Wing Commander T.S. TULL’S report.

On the 22nd of November 1945 the Indonesian rebels broke through the camp perimeter and herded the camp inmates with their arms above their heads, to the central area where they started shooting and throwing hand grenades into the crowd. A lot of people were killed or wounded but miraculously my family and I survived this attack without a scratch.
When they heard the engine noise of a British tank coming to our aid, they all fled being so afraid of Gurkha soldiers.

After this horrendous attack in Camp 8 (see Tull report — Part four “Total War” page 13) the fighting was so severe that it took two days before the dead could be buried in a mass grave. The British caught one attacker of the atrocity. He was placed in the middle of the field with bound hands and feet, where he was kicked by the camp inmates.

To shorten the defense perimeter we were moved to the pre-war hospital (camp 7) near the center of Ambarawa. For days on end heavy fighting went on all around us. Next to our building a British 25 pounder gun was continually firing.

Every time the gun fired my father started counting until he could hear the muffled impact. In this way one could work out if the enemy was coming nearer or retreating.
Looking back on this I realize now that this was my first awareness of the travel of sound waves.

The Indonesians were firing back with mortars and 75 mm guns (ex. Dutch army)
One day we had a direct hit. The roof caved in and you could see the blue sky. Again we were lucky and were only slightly wounded.
The tailfin of a mortar grenade hit my knee and when I touched it, it was very hot. Unfortunately I had to hand this tailfin over to a British Officer who came to investigate the incident for intelligence purposes.

In December when the British managed to open the road to the coast, we were evacuated in a heavy armoured convoy to Semarang. In Semarang the fighting was less severe. I will never forget that, in spite of the fighting, the British and Gurkha soldiers organized a marvelous Christmas party for the Ambarawa children. I was given a Meccano set No.1 which was over-whelming after years of suffering.

On the 28th of December we boarded a landing craft and sailed to a British commando-assault ship which was to take us to Ceylon. For safety it was moored a long way from shore. On our way we passed two British war ships (Sussex and Caprice) who were giving ground support.
When we reached our ship we were hoisted up and given a corned beef mash potato meal.
The first good warm meal in years.

During the voyage to Colombo the ship's crew organised entertainment for the children. Also a lot of films and cartoons were shown.

After staying three months in Kandy, Ceylon, at the former headquarters of Lord Mountbatten, we were transported in a Dutch troop ship to Amsterdam. We stopped before the SUEZ CANAL and were then transported by train into the Egyptian desert. We were welcomed in a British army camp by a music band consisting of German prisoners of war from General Rommel’s “Africa Corps”. These German POW's also operated a make-shift playground and handed out sweets.

Also winter clothing and shoes were distributed. After walking bare feet for three years it was strange to wear shoes again.

On the 5th of May 1946 we arrived in Amsterdam. We consider this date our Liberation Day.
After sixty years I still remember all the good people who were so friendly to us. The local Indonesian population, the british soldiers and ghurka's, the british sailers and last last but not least the german POW's. Even the japenese commander had a weak moment when he gave me a biscuit.

These were my experiences of the Pacific War.

My father, Frans Banning, survivor of the Sumatra Railways, poses, dressed as a slave labourer, for 'Traces of War' in 2001.

TRACES OF WAR. SURVIVORS OF THE BURMA AND SUMATRA RAILWAYS, by Jan Banning

Description:

Victory for the allied forces in the Pacific theatre of the Second World War will be celebrated in August, 60 years after the Japanese Emperor Hirohito conceded defeat. There will be among the celebrants a small, largely forgotten group who will once again have to relive their nightmares of the war in the Pacific.

Dutch, English, Australian and American POW’s were among more than a quarter of a million Asians - so called romushas — foced by the Japanese to work on railways in Burma and Sumatra. They worked in desperate conditions. Between 50 and 80 per cent of the romushas did not survive the regime, not least as a result of being torpedoed in transit. The sinking of the Junyo Maru, for instance, resulted in the deaths of 4000 romushas and 1500 prisoners of war.

In Traces of War the Dutch photographer Jan Banning has interviewed and photographed just 24 of the Dutch and Indonesian survivors. Among them is his father. The haunting images show them as they worked, naked from the waist up. The words elicit, with a matter-of-fact disinterest, the misery of their constant understanding of death. Unsurprisingly, after their experiences, they have hitherto been loath to discuss their ordeals.

Jan Banning’s Dutch publication of Traces of War has all but sold out. Trolley presents the English language version for the many thousands of relatives and children, and the few survivors, who want to know the truths of what happened in Burma and Sumatra.

Author/Photographer Details:

Jan Banning was born in the Netherlands in 1954, and studied social and economic history at the University of Nijmegen . He has published 7 books, for which he has won numerous awards, including the the Dutch Icodo Award 2003 for Traces of War and the World Press Photo 2004 Portrait Stories Award.

ISBN: 1-904563-46-5
EAN: 9-781904-563464

RRP: UK £19.95 US $34.95 €29.95 CAN $44.95 AUS $49.95

PUBLICATION DATE: 2 AUGUST 05
REPORT CODE: NP

BIC CODE: AJ / JWXR / HBB
CATEGORY: PHOTOGRAPHY

BINDING: HARDBACK
EXTENT: 144 pp
FORMAT: 225 x 245 mm / 8.86 x 9.68 in
ILLUSTRATIONS: 24 DUOTONE B/W PHOTOGRAPHS
MARKET RIGHTS: UK AND EUROPE

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author.

Nel's Story: Part III: Internment in Work Camp Kampong Makassaricon for Recommended story

by anak-bandung

Womens work camp Kampong Makkassar... Our last camp

Mama’s feeling that something was up, turned out to be correct. We had to go. First that long walk to the station, then those stinking cattle wagons again, half standing, half hanging. When we finally arrived in Batavia we had to walk all the way to the camp Kampong Makassar. It was 17 March 1945.

“……..One of the Japs — in a confidential mood - explained that Rangoon had taught them that they had made an error of judgement: they had placed the interned men at the coast; the women in the interior. When the allied forces occupied Rangoon they found the men immediately prepared to help by freeing the women. As they were now expecting an attack on Java within two months, they were planning to do it differently: ‘we will place the women at the coast; the men in the interior. When the allied forces then arrive, they will be hindered in their military actions by the presence of thousands of women and children who will beg for food and who would need to be taken care of’. Based on this reasoning Batavia (now Jakarta) would have to become one enormous camp for women!

Bent over their eternal administration in their headquarters in Bandung, the
Japs had already transported us on paper to the already overpopulated camps on the coast. They themselves had a most curious appraisement for these paradises, with two extremes: ‘Tjideng’ as a place of punishment under the infamous Sonei and ‘Kampong Makassar’, an Eden of fresh air, vegetables and fruit (for the Japs of course).

We ended up in this Eden”.

(the above is an excerpt from the book ‘Het Verbluffende Kamp’ by Ko Luijckx, publishers A D M C Stok, Zuidhollandsche Uitgevers Mij., Den Haag)

The whole camp housed approximately 3500 women and children who were divided amongst 19 barracks. After having to wait a long time we were allocated hut 14. They told us to pick a place. There were almost 200 of us women and children, most of them very small, in that hut. We were allocated 60 centimetre per adult and 45 centimetre per child. Not too spacious, but ‘sudah’ (never mind) we could sleep. We covered the lumpy and filthy mattresses with a sheet. Another was pinned up as a wall and we then had the feeling we had our own little ‘house’, ouw own private place. The small case served as a table on which I had put the photographs of papa and Rob.

Every morning, afternoon and evening we had to go and stand in front of our barracks and bow ‘keirei!’ for the Emperor! If you did not bow correctly, even a centimetre too high or too low, you would be beaten. As this camp was a working camp, everybody had to work, outside on the fields, inside in the pigsties, kitchen, hospital or was put to work in the building group who maintained and built the barracks.

The day after our arrival we were ‘medically’ inspected. Never mind how weak you might be or whether you suffered from dysentery, etc., if your legs looked fine, that’s to say, not too swollen from oedema, you were strong enough to work. Older women like my mother were given the care of the small children. Mama would be looking after Robke. I was allocated garden duty and had to irrigate the gardens. That meant ladling out some human excrement with a small tin from the cess-pit behind the latrines. My tin was exceptionally small, but sudah, I had to do it.

From the cess-pit, forming a long file to the garden (garden 3) outside the camp, to a tomato field alongside the ‘kali’ (small river). Then dumping the manure around a tomato plant, trudging back again, collecting some more shit and once more back to the tomato plants — day in, day out.

One day, I slipped when I was ladling more manure for the tomato plants. I fell into the cess-pit where I rapidly sank up to my neck. Lucky for me one of the women was quick-thinking and grabbed me by my hair to keep my head above the filth. With all their might they were able to drag me out. Thank God I had been a ‘good girl’ lately and had not had my head shaven for a while, otherwise……

I had a lot of trouble getting cleaned up. First the women rolled me through the grass and later they ‘donated’ a few buckets of water, for which I was very grateful, for we only received a few buckets-full per person. When I was ‘clean’, another dear soul poured the rest of some of her old perfume over me, which was not such a good idea after all. That night my closer bed-fellows requested me to sleep outside the barrack. Mother told me also that the smell made her feel sick. I wonder what is worse: the smell of shit, stale perfume or the combination of the two?

I seem to have had continuous situations to do with baths. When we were working in the fields, it was always a race to be one of the first to get to the bathing hut, for then you would have more water. Everybody of course juggled with her allocated water supply. One bad day I took a shortcut, together with one of my hut mates, through a hole in the fence enclosing the Tenko field. We were the first and had loads of water! We gleefully soaped ourselves, but did not get the chance to rinse it off. The filthy Jap had spotted us and ordered us to get out immediately, naked and still covered with soap. We had to stand there, on a step on the Tenko field, for the remainder of the day beneath the burning sun. For a long time after, we would foam whenever we rubbed a wet finger over our skin, which also became very dry and somewhat painful.

One other bad day, the self-same Jap gave me a beating. He probably didn’t think I had bowed low or quick enough. Anyway, I fell to the ground when he hit me and he started to kick me in the stomach with his big, heavy boots. In the camp hospital, the female doctor diagnosed a possible internal bleeding and tried all sorts of things. It stayed very sensitive right up till the end of the war. Much later, in Holland, they discovered that the Jap had done quite a bit of damage and it was diagnosed I had no abdominal muscles left and for the rest of my life had to be content with a ‘hang belly’.

Those who did extra camp duties on top of all the hard work already done, would receive ‘corvee’ rations — extra fatigue duty rations — , a small amount of almost inedible bread which should weigh 110 grams but often would weigh no more than 65 grams. Small and bad as these extra rations were, they often made a difference between life or death.

Complaining about more rations was of no help, to the contrary. When sixteen of us from our hut, at the beginning of July, rebelled and asked for more and better quality, we had our heads shaved as a humiliation and thrown in a very small, windowless punishment hut. The following day all the food for that day was gathered up and taken to the big field. We had to dig a large pit and throw our food in and cover it with earth. The whole camp then was denied food for two days. The camp hospital also had to share in this scandalous punishment. The Japs also switched off the water supply where they could.

This has been the worst punishment ever.

On certain days there were some handouts in the ‘toko’ (shop), a very large word for such an insignificant establishment. Sometimes we were given some tobacco, at other times some sugar or ‘sambal ‘(a very spicy pickle made from chilli peppers), to give your ‘meal’ a little more taste.

When I worked in the camp hospital, Robke, small as she was, would take my place to stand in the queue for the handout to start. From where I worked I could keep an eye on her and when it was her turn I could go and receive whatever was being given. The weird thing was that little Robke would not eat from the sugar, but would devour all the sambal if she got the chance. Maybe her body knew it needed the vitamins.

Freedom on the horizon

When we heard, on 17 August 1945, that the war was over we found it difficult to take it in. But how happy we were. However, we were still not allowed to leave the camp, because the Indonesian population was not to be trusted. No, that is not true, only the younger ones who had been in collusion with the Japs and worked with them could not be trusted. We had no courage to flee the camp.

One day, though, men arrived in search for their wives and children Oh, what a sad sight that was, all those skeletal-like men only clothed in a ‘tjawat’ (loin cloth). In their hundreds the women and children flew towards the gate to see whether their husband and father was amongst them. Robke, loudly shrieking, came running into the hospital.
‘Mama, quick. To the gate! Otherwise all the daddies will be gone!’
What did she know what a daddy was. She had so often stood in the queue when something was handed out and thought we might miss out if we weren’t there quick enough. That moment I felt like crying. I told her she already had a daddy, that the man on the photograph was her daddy.

It took several weeks before we were allowed to leave the camp. Robke and I were taken to the hotel Der Nederlanden in Batavia (Jakarta) and were given a room with a real bed close to a real ‘mandi’ (bath) room. O, that bathroom! All that fresh water, not only in one measured ‘gajong’ (bucket), but an endless amount of ‘gajongs’, as many as I wanted. How often did I bathe then!

The dining room! What a miracle that was after all those dreadful years and that awful food! We did not just eat during this period; we gorged ourselves! Robke discovered there were enough ‘pisangs’ (bananas) to take some back to the room. It was a feast for the eyes to see that child savour her food. She had been deprived of so much all those years. I wondered how she would react to all the new experiences.

While we were in Batavia, I had violent headaches and was admitted to hospital. There they discovered I had meningitis and to relieve the pressure of all the pus, they had to drill some holes into my skull. Once again I ended up with a shaven head. Once out of hospital I covered it with a cloth from under which some hair peeped — kindly donated by my friends. It was sewn into the material and it looked as if I had a full head of hair!

Note: Later on in Holland, a passerby saw a burning cigarette end, thrown from an upstairs window,land on top of Nel’s headscarf. He quickly wrenched it off her head and then recoiled in disgust, calling out‘You dirty ‘Moffenhoer!’ (Jerry whore!)

(The Dutch women who had been intimate with the occupying forces had their heads shaven as punishment after the capitulation)

Repatriation
Being a widow with a child, I had no choice in whether I wanted to stay in Indonesia or leave. As I had no means to support myself and my child, we had leave for Holland on the first repatriation ship. This was the liner ‘Nieuw Amsterdam’. But first we had to be taken to Singapore. The ship we found ourselves on was an old trader, called the ‘Stavanger’. We were all given swimming vests to wear and most women found a spot down into the hold. I refused to go down and took refuge on deck, next to the galley. It was a very frightening journey and later I heard that many similar ships full of women and children perished after hitting mines.

In Singapore we embarked on the ‘Nieuw Amsterdam’ which also took on board British POWs from the Burma line due for Southampton. Quite a combination: widows and POWs who had not seen a woman for more than three years! Though were they got the energy from?

Robke managed the long boat trip quite well. For her it seemed one big feast after the other. There was no bed for her, but the purser made a bed up for her in the bath, made very comfortable with blankets and pillows. The purser was crazy about her. He made sure she was given a warm jacket, made from a grey blanket, which was necessary for it was going to be cold in Holland where we would arrive in January.

A British serviceman was also taken with my child. At first I thought he had designs on me, but he showed me a picture of his own daughter, taken at the same age as Robke was then, and the likeness was uncanny. He spoiled her rotten and took her all over the ship, giving me some longed for privacy.

In Aden we were given clothing which had come from donations from people in Britain. It was meant well, but a lot of the clothing was very unsuitable. Robke lost out for she was in sick bay with measles at that moment and the whole sick bay was overlooked.

In Southampton the British POWs left the Nieuw Amsterdam. The British soldier said a tearful goodbye to Robke. We had exchanged addresses but never followed this up.

Holland

January 1946 in Holland. It was freezing!

When we steamed into the harbour we were told that Princess Juliana would come on board to welcome us. The railing where Robke and I were standing, was opened up and when the Princess stepped out of her car and walked up the gangway, Robke saw something she had never seen in her whole life — frozen water on which people were skating.

‘Mama, what are those people doing there?’ she asked, rather loudly.
I answered: ‘They are skating on the water. The water is frozen because it is so cold, you know.’
Enthusiastically she yelled ‘Oh, lots of Jesuses on the water! Wonderful, isn’t it mama?’
At that moment Princess Juliana stepped on board and hearing what Robke said, lifted her up, took her in her arms and gave her a big kiss. She then asked me what Robke had meant. I quickly explained and said that the story of Jesus walking on the water had always been a favourite and she thought that all those skating people……

After listening to this story, Juliana laid her hand against my cheek, smiled and said ‘Welcome and God bless you’ and walked on.

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Japanese Prisoner of War in Java

javaprisnor

10 November 2003

This is the story of my father, who wrote this for his grand children, so they would know what he went through in WW2.

Beauty of Indonesia

The island of Indonesia is the most important and most densely populated island in the world. Close to 60 million people live there, and it is 750 miles wide, 75 miles across. The Javanese people are very poor. We passed a canal outside Batavia, and the women were standing in the murky water doing their washing and bathing and also obtaining drinking water from it. The canal was also used for bodily functions.

The island at that time was governed by the Dutch, so you had two distinct classes, the rich Dutch and the poor natives. It was in 1950 that the island received its independence, and a republican government was formed.

The island is a land of beauty, with mountains, jungle, rolling hills. It is noted for the volcanoes, 400 in number - 160 are still active. The story of the volcano is that the sulphur makes the land so fertile that the rice crops are increased to three a year instead of one. The main plantations are tobacco, sugar, tea, coffee and rice. The farmers with their bullocks plough the wet land called 'paddy' fields, 'paddy' is the word for rice.

Flowering trees are everywhere. Banana, coconut, passion fruit, wild orchids and many other fruiting trees. Oranges are grown in abundance. There are various birds of all colours, not to mention monkeys and lizards which you hear at night. The most important tree in Java is the quinine tree.

The taxicab service is called betjaks. The betjak consists of a double seat mounted on a pair of cycle wheels, placed in the front of the rear half of a bicycle on which a man sits and pedals. I had one experience of a ride. The men carry their goods on shoulder poles with a large basket each side. They do a trot when laden with these goods.

I can remember, when one passed by, he was a walking cafe. On one side he had pots and pans and a charcoal fire, and on the other side he had his rice, fish and other things to cook. If one asked for a meal, he would cook it on the spot. The women carried the produce on their heads, in large baskets. They carried the babies in a sarong wrapped over their shoulders. When they went to plant the rice they carried the baby in the same way, even the young children have to work in the paddy fields.

Now to my story.

Hopeless situation at Batavia

When the war ended and the Japanese finally capitulated, the Indonesians were far more experienced than they had been before it started. Because of this, they were able to organise and to resist the return of the Dutch in 1946, when a new armed conflict began. The final defeat of the Dutch was in 1950, when the independence of Indonesia was declared. During their occupation the Japanese had given the Javanese arms, and encouraged military formations, for their own purposes - and this helped the Javanese in their struggle against the Dutch.

I will start my story on board the 'Empress of Australia', bound for Cape Town. We only had a few days there when war was declared in the Far East, so our convoy was immediately transferred to meet the Japanese.

We landed at Batavia, we were the 42 Regiment RA. We had three weeks to wait before the Japs invaded the island. Then came the news that Singapore had surrendered, we knew that Java would be next. Suddenly, out of the sky, came the dive bombers in large numbers.

The civilians were rushing to get on to boats in the harbour. We watched packed boats leave the harbour, then down came the dive bombers - sinking all the boats, most of them carrying women and children. Looting was going on everywhere.

After heavy, constant, bombing the Japs landed at Batavia. Three days later Surabaya, the Dutch naval base and the city of Bandung were in enemy hands. With the fall of these cities the fighting in Java came to an end. The Dutch had lost most of their navy in trying to prevent the landings, and the air force was no match for the masses of aircraft the enemy were able to throw into the battle. The Japanese claimed that 93,000 Dutch and 5,000 British, Australian and American troops had surrendered.

We withdrew into the hills to wait for instructions, but first we had to blow up the guns, make other equipment useless, burn all documents and make all transport useless. The regiment received orders to stack all small arms, rifles etc.

Break for freedom

Now I will take my story to when six of us made a break to freedom. Our Colonel addressed the ranks - I can hear his words now: 'It is up to you to try and make a break, but you must remember you are surrounded by the sea, your only chance is the jungle'. An officer came forward and asked for five volunteers. I was the first to volunteer. Why, I shall never know, but my decision certainly saved my life.

There was the officer, a sergeant, myself and three privates. We loaded up with supplies, tinned foods, Red Cross equipment, and water bottles, two each. One of the men carried only cigarettes. With our heavy burden we left our unit. The officer's decision was to try and make for Surabaya, hoping to board a boat for Darwin. Little did we know our task was hopeless from the start - Surabaya was crawling with Japs, but the officer was determined to carry on with his plans.

We entered the hills to climb up a volcanic mountain which would lead us deep into the jungle. After climbing over rocks and boulders we finally made the top. To our surprise, we were looking into a deep sulphur pit. We had to cover our mouths to protect ourselves from the sulphur, which was boiling. Java is noted for these mountains. On reaching the top we discovered a hut, and on going inside we found an old gramophone - with records which happened to be in English. We stayed the night for a good rest, before our adventure into the unknown. A party of Australians joined us at this point, but had other ideas and so were leaving us in the morning.

We had tropical kit, so only had short trousers with putties, plus the good old Topy. Not a very good outfit for the jungle. We found the cigarette supply came in very useful, as we found the leeches were getting into our putties.

Out first two nights in the jungle I shall never forget. We had our ground sheets, so made our beds after making a clearance. I think the worst noise came from the monkeys. Needless to say we had very little rest - we just prayed the Japs were not coming our way.

After the third day we entered a tribal village, just small hovels scattered around. Our problem was, were they going to be friendly? I can still see the chieftain, a big native, bare from the waist upwards and decorated with beads of all sorts. He mumbled some words, which must have been of welcome! They made us go into one hovel, which was the chieftain's, making us sit around on mats. We had a meal with plenty of rice and fish. Afterwards they made signs for us to sleep so we settled down. First of all they posted four guards to watch over us, each had a large hatchet. You can image our thoughts! We stayed for two days with the natives who seemed to be very friendly, especially the topless ladies!

Before leaving the chieftain gave us four guides to take us through the jungle to the next kampon, which took us four days. We received the same friendly welcome, staying for one night, but found the following morning all our money and documents had gone.

So there we were, no name or number, and in a hostile country. Our guides left us at this point to return to their village. We carried on through the jungle until we found a rough road, which seemed to go on for many miles, then we had our first experience of tropical rain.

Tropical rain, and some good luck

We took the opportunity of having a good wash down - believe me, we needed it. The rain soon passed over, so we dried our clothes in the tropical heat and carried on. Suddenly in the distance we noticed a large building, the officers went forward to find out how we stood with the natives, and if it was all clear with our friends the Japs. He came back full of smiles. We had found a tea plantation.

The manager was a Scotsman with a charming wife and two children. They immediately made us welcome. First of all they showed us to the bathroom, we could hardly believe this was really happening, back to civilisation in the heart of the jungle! The wife found us bath robes and washed our clothes. We sat down to our first real meal which included pancakes done in brown sugar, never have pancakes tasted better!

After the meal our hosts showed us to our bedrooms, with lovely white sheets. It was just paradise, we slept well in this dreamland. The following morning we felt like different men, having had a good breakfast and with clean uniforms. We talked about our chances of escape. Our host showed us a film of the jungle and the rocky coast line we would have to travel over, as Surabaya was fully occupied by the Japs. There was a small fishing village before Surabaya. He told our officer our task was impossible - also that the Japs had broadcast a message that all troops trying to escape would now be executed on capture.

So it was live or die. He wanted us to stay in a hut in the jungle, sending us news through his natives - he was certain the Japs would be beaten in a few weeks. Our officer refused the offer, so we left our home of dreams, with six native guides and plenty of stores to help us on our way. We noticed the guides were carrying ropes, and we soon found out the reason. We came to a swollen river, which we had to cross. One guide went over after fixing a rope to a tree. Then we had to cross by hand. The natives took the stores over, which was a blessing. Safely across, we were in the hands of our guides. We had to have faith in their knowledge of the jungle. How we prayed, knowing that if we met up with the Japs it was death for us.

We carried on through the jungle. The monsoon season was now causing us great hardship, the heavy ram was making swamps, and the steaming heat was unbearable. After a time Charles Allen and I caught malaria - our quinine tablets had run out. Having had no mosquito nets to protect us at night we had already taken all the tablets. I really thought it was the end of the road for me. Then another miracle happened.

We approached another plantation which was managed by a Dutchman. He told us the Japs were moving fast, and that we stood no chance of getting off the island. It was too risky for him to take in the six of us, but he agreed to help myself and my friend, as we were beyond walking. He took us to a bedroom. There we remained for three days. On the fourth day he brought round a truck, and told us to lie down on the bottom, and covered us with sugar canes. We could see out of the truck, which had wooden sides. We went through Bandung, and could see the Japs walking about. He then drove up to an Allied base hospital, which up to that time had not been taken over.

Japanese take over control

Two days after, the Japs took over control, and we all had to line up, including some stretcher cases. I shall never forget that forced march, at bayonet point. The main prison had been emptied to occupy the troops, and here ended my episode of trying to escape. The Dutchman had saved the life of the two of us, at great risk to himself. The Colonel in charge of the Allied base said it was a miracle we had got through. Two days later we would have been doomed.

We heard the sad news at a later date that Lieutenant Sherian, Sergeant Walker, Sergeant McNeil and Private Jones had all been executed, after being captured.

We remained in our prison packed in cells like sardines, twelve men to a small cell, with a small square which we would keep walking around. We had our first experience of the true Japanese. The rice diet we had to enjoy three times a day. Our watches, all rings, wallets, photographs and everything that was personal to us was taken away, we were left with only the clothes we were wearing. Our boots were also taken from us. Finally we had to have our heads shaved, or rather cut by a native with a long clipper and a knife. There we stood, no boots, no hair, awaiting our fate for the coming three and half years.

After a long period of time our prisoner of war camps were ready for our occupation - these had been built in the jungle. This time we were transported by a fleet of lorries.

Camp

The camp was situated next to a plantation, which the Japanese had commandeered for their own use. The quarters for the prisoners were open-sided huts, with a line of wooden boards down each side. Everybody had one blanket, which either you used as a pillow or to cover over you.

After a few weeks bugs appeared, so each morning boards had to be inspected. Bugs were a great torment during the night. We tried to get mosquito nets from the Japs with little response, so we therefore also had mosquitoes buzzing around.

Sanitation was like a bad dream. A stream went through the camp, this was used for everything. Imagine using this, with the Japs enjoying the fun with a large bamboo cane. Each morning we had to parade for Bango (number in Japanese), and we had to bow to the Sun (the god of the Japanese) when the sun went down. In these parades we were told how Nipon was winning the war, how the 'Prince of Wales' and the 'Repulse' had been sunk, and how Nipon was defeating the Far East.

Each morning there was a beating for somebody - one only had to smile to be picked out for special treatment by the guards. Once, two men tried to escape. They were caught, brought back to the camp, put into the wire cage - which was a special treatment of the Japs - and left in the cage for a week, starved.

After this period they were brought out on parade, and we had to witness the execution of both men. They had to dig their own grave. Then they were tied to a post. The Jap guards then bayonet-charged the men 15 times, before finally killing them. The following day the Japanese brought flowers along, and placed them over the grave.

Conditions

The Japanese now formed us into working parties, for building blast walls and many other slave labour jobs. It did get us out of the camp, although it was against the Geneva Convention. Can you imagine? No boots, sore feet - hook worm was the main problem to the soles of the feet.

The conditions got so bad in the camp. Our diet consisted of pap rice for breakfast (just like wallpaper paste, although after a time your stomach got used to it), steamed rice mid day and again about 6pm. After a time, you got so hungry you prayed for more rice. If there was rice over we formed groups, each man had a number. If it was your group and your number came up, you were lucky. How we used to watch the rice bins, just hoping! The extra helping was called 'Legi'.

Now things began to move. In the camp, our charming hosts formed us into groups of 100 men. One morning a group was called on parade, and each man was issued with a large straw hat, a pair of wooden clogs, and an extra blanket. Working parties were being moved to other islands by ships - and later were taken to work on the Burma Railroad. It was many months before I was to see those men again.

Next draft I found myself included, but luckily for me, I had contracted yellow jaundice with dysentery, it was agony. This shipload left Batavia with all prisoners battened down below. I was taken off the draft. I later learned the ship was sunk, nobody survived.

Hospital work; victims of the Burma Railroad

I and other men too sick to work, were moved to the Dutch army barracks, which was now used by the Japanese as a hospital to get the men back to work. After a period of time I was well enough to move about, and being a medical corporal I was able to help others. The officer in charge was Lieutenant Colonel Van-de-Post. We had very few medical supplies. The army barracks had a few more luxuries than the camp, like iron beds, and the sanitation was greatly improved, but the hospital was still treated by the Japanese like a prison.

It was some months later that we had our first draft of PoWs back from the islands. The men were in a terrible state - just living skeletons, with ulcers, sores and dysentery. Some were in a bad mental state. One had to see these men to imagine that such cruelty could be inflicted on another human being. When the men arrived they had been in the hold of the ship, battened down. Some died a terrible death. These men had been worked to near death before being sent back to Java. Now our real work started - to help the men, give them the hope to live, and give medical attention to the best of our ability.

We only had two medical officers, with six other medical personnel. When the Colonel noticed how I was working he decided to keep me under his wing, which I was thankful for.

The men were now coming back from the Burma Railroad. Few of these men lived to tell the world how they had suffered. We struggled against a hopeless task, but these men wanted to die, they knew they only had to stand and they would be sent off again. We had to dig a large communal grave for those who died. There is now a cemetery in Singapore in memory of those lads who died in the prison camps.

Approach of the end of the war

We are now in our second year. Our clothes are now just loin cloths, two per man. The rice diet has just about kept us alive. I suffered much dysentery, malaria, ulcers, but when I looked round at the mere skeletons of men around me, I realised I was thankful for my medical experience and for the help I was able to give.

Towards the end of the third year things got better. The Japs altered our diet. Buffalo meat appeared in our rice, with sweet potatoes. The guards were becoming friendly, we began to realise the end was near.

Release!

We had to wait a further six months before that was to happen. The great day arrived, for those of us who had survived. Lord and Lady Mountbatten, both in white naval uniform, came into the camp to announce the Japs had surrendered, the war was over.

Need I tell you our feelings. They told us we were all being drafted to Singapore, but we had to be patient. I received my first mail from home. Then on to Singapore - the Red Cross received all the troops in Singapore. Australians, American, Indian, Dutch and the British, we were all graded according to what condition you were in. The worst cases were sent home by plane.

I was taken, along with many others, to the Sea View Hotel, which had been made the Red Cross base. The Red Cross are an organisation one must be proud of. We had every attention by the nurses and Red Cross staff. We spent four weeks getting fit enough to travel home by the troop ship. I weighed 8 stone - in Singapore, I had lost 6 stone.

The time came for us to board the ship in glorious sunshine. The first stop was to be Colombo. I shall never forget the reception we received. Bands were playing on the dockside, cars were lined up to take us to various places. I sent a telegram home to Grace, letting her know I was on the way home. We spent two weeks here with wonderful people.

Whilst we were in Colombo we had measurements taken for our new winter uniform, these were flown to Port Said, our next stop. We boarded ships for our next stop through the Suez Canal. We landed at Port Said, where there was a large marquee on the bank. We went inside to find our kit bag with all our new clothes. Even our ranks were sewn on, including war ribbons.

So once again we were in full uniform - although a bit different. Our next stop was Gibraltar for a further few days. Then on to Liverpool, the end of our journey, then straight to the army barracks. The next day a train to Euston station, there to meet Grace and Ralph once again!

So ends this story of my experience.

I may add I was mentioned in Dispatches for my services in the prison camp, this I greatly treasure.

Also I was reported missing for two and half years.

Charles Whitehead

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Message 1 - Remarkable man

Posted on: 10 November 2003 by peterking

The title just caught my eye & I have been mesmerised by your father's story. I've been to Surabaya & Singapore on holiday (and seen the war museum there) so I partly understand the inhospitable climate & geography. Not really though I guess.

I hope your father's life wasn't soured afterwards by his experiences - his matter-of-fact recount probably shows that he wasn't. You must be very proud to be associated with him.

Peter King

Message 2 - Remarkable man

Posted on: 22 March 2005 by jumpcane1

Message 1 - Flowers on the grave

Posted on: 02 July 2004 by anak-bandung

I was fascinated by your father’s experiences. It goes to show how people can survive in the most adverse circumstances.
The event describing the Jap laying flowers on the graves of those they killed is not a single one. This was done in other camps as well, as told by someone in the women work camp Kampong Makassar. The Jap, then ‘protecting’ her after the capitulation, had taken her to visit her father’s grave. She managed to prevent him from laying flowers on his grave only by being very persistent.
I wonder whether it is a custom — appeasing the departed souls?

Too little is written about people’s personal experiences, especially their suffering as POWs or civilian internees. Just after the war, when people had the need to tell what had happened to them, they were quickly silenced. It is over, put it behind you.
This also happened to my mother. She soon shut up after been told this several times, if she timidly started to talk about some incident or other. The Dutch, however, were quite happy though to let her know how much THEY had suffered. Of course they had, but they were not sensitive to her feelings. This has brought some bitterness.

I hope many more will come forward telling about their experiences or their parents’ experiences in the camps. These stories need to be told before it is far too late. Soon these people will no longer be alive.

Message 1 - Java camps

Posted on: 11 September 2004 by jeannehuisman

If you are interested please come and have a look at our new site about Dutch-Indies memories nowadays

http://groups.msn.com/opblotekakkies^{About links}

where people from all voer the world talk about heir lives and their memories.

Ineke

Message 1 - My Mother Johanna Jacoba Valk ---....Golesworthy

Posted on: 25 September 2004 by nettybarker

My Mother was a Dutch girl of 18imprisoned by the Japs her story has been written down too called The Solid Angle after her father,s invention. Her whole family were interrned her father the Managing director of the Dutch East India electric co; and brother in one camp and my O ma and her two daughters in another. The brother and other boys from her community to the Burma road. Its all such a long story that has coloured my life, I think I knew about the Geneva convention before I could walk. My birth in 47 just two years after liberation, as you say by the Mountbattens was so short a time after the war and my Mother living in miserable post war England left her no one to help her recover.

Message 2 - My Mother Johanna Jacoba Valk ---....Golesworthy

Posted on: 16 February 2005 by Lia's-Daughter

Hello Netty,
I was interested to read about your mother Johanna. It sounds all very similar to my own mother's experience - she too was 18, and in the camp (3 altogether) with her mother and sister, and her father and brother in the men's camp, and the Burma Railway. Her name was Cecelia de Keijser, her mother Johanna Voorzanger. I wonder if your mother knew them - although I know that's unlikely as there were so many women and children. It was a terrible thing to live through, and my mother went mad in the end. Best wishes, Lia's Daughter.

Message 3 - My Mother Johanna Jacoba Valk-Golesworthy

Posted on: 09 May 2005 by nettybarker

Hello Lia,s daughter,how old are you I am a young 58 (Ithink). You must be about the same age as me. This is not an easy way to talk about these things that have made us the people we are. You don,t say whether your Mumis still alive, I cannot say my Mother has gone mad in fact she,s pretty sane most of the time but the starvation has caused terrible athritis she can hardly get around,and is very anaemic,she says she wants to die, its very difficult because she fought and fought all her life, she used to say to me, in accent, you would never have survived,when I was being wimpy.
She also had TB when I was 7 my brother was4 and other brother 1.
She has been an inspiration to all of us in family but now we are so sad.
Did your mum get any compensation, all mums family did. How did your mum come to England my Mum came on the New Amsterdam met Dad a soldier and that was that, a long story.
Her family were Valk, her father was managing director of the Dutch Electric co. If you write back to me I can find out more I can,t remember it all now, its just lovely that you wrote back, because we are very diferent from other people because of
our mother,s background.

Message 4 - My Mother Johanna Jacoba Valk ---....Golesworthy

Posted on: 09 May 2005 by nettybarker

Hello Lia,s daughter,how old are you I am a young 58 . You must be about the same age as me. This is not an easy way to talk about these things that have made us the people we are. You don,t say whether your Mumis still alive, I cannot say my Mother has gone mad in fact she,s pretty sane most of the time but the starvation has caused terrible athritis she can hardly get around,and is very anaemic,she says she wants to die, its very difficult because she fought and fought all her life, she used to say to me, in accent, you would never have survived,when I was being wimpy.
She also had TB when I was 7 my brother was4 and other brother 1.
She has been an inspiration to all of us in family but now we are so sad.
Did your mum get any compensation, all mums family did. How did your mum come to England my Mum came on the New Amsterdam met Dad a soldier and that was that, a long story.
Her family were Valk, her father was managing director of the Dutch Electric co. If you write back to me I can find out more I can,t remember it all now, its just lovely that you wrote back, because we are very diferent from other people because of
our mother,s background.

The Indonesian section of the archive can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/categories/c54592/

1943 - A colourful chain of events

1943 and Herman Fokker is writing his diaries. This list describes the year in a few facts that build an interesting picture of flux and instability (read as change). It sufficiently captures the idea of AEON "New Age" I think... You have it in a nutshell. War is in full scale. LSD is invented, Two colonies escape European power, the "Philidelphia Experiment" happens. Please contribute to this list so we can create a "gestalt" around the time of his writing

January 1943
Monday 11: The United States and United Kingdom give up territorial rights in China.
Thursday 14: Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the first President of the United States to travel via airplane while in office (Miami, Florida to Morocco to meet with Winston Churchill to discuss World War II).
Friday 15: The world's largest office building, The Pentagon, is dedicated (Arlington, Virginia). Saturday 23: Duke Ellington plays at New York City's Carnegie Hall for the first time.
Sunday 24: World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca.

February 1943
Monday 01: World War II: Vidkun Quisling appointed Premier of Norway by the Nazi occupiers. Tuesday 02: World War II: The last Nazi forces surrender to the Soviets following the Battle of Stalingrad.
Thursday 04: Battle of Stalingrad ends. Monday 08: United States forces defeat Japanese troops.
Monday 22: Members of White Rose are executed in Nazi Germany.

March 1943
Tuesday 02: United States and Australian forces sink Japanese convoy ships. Friday 05: First flight of Gloster Meteor jet aircraft in Britain.
Monday 08: World War II: Japanese troops counter-attack American forces on Hill 700 in Bougainville in a battle that will last five days.
Monday 15: the Germans retook the city of Kharkov from the Soviet armies in bitter street fighting.
Friday 26: In the Aleutian Islands the battle begins when United States Navy forces intercept Japanese attempting to reinforce a garrison at Kiska.

April 1943
Tuesday 13: The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated in Washington, DC, on the 200th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson's birth.
Friday 16: Dr. Albert Hofmann discovers the psychedelic effects of LSD. Monday 19: Bicycle Day ; Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann deliberately takes LSD for the first time.
Thursday 22: Albert Hofmann writes his first report about the hallucinogenic properties of LSD. Friday 30: World War II: Operation Mincemeat – The submarine HMS Seraph surfaces in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain to deposit a dead man planted with false invasion plans and dressed as a British military intelligence officer.

May 1943
Tuesday 11: World War II: American troops invade Attu in the Aleutian Islands in an attempt to expel occupying Japanese forces.
Saturday 15: Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International).
Sunday 16: World War II: The Dambuster Raids by RAF 617 Squadron on German dams. Monday 17: The United States Army contracts with the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School to develop the ENIAC.
Wednesday 19: World War II: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt set Monday, May 1, 1944 as the date for the cross-English Channel landing (D-Day would later be delayed over a month due to bad weather).

June 1943
Tuesday 01: A civilian flight from Lisbon to London is shot down by the Germans during World War II, killing all aboard, including actor Leslie Howard.
Thursday 03: A mob of 60 from the Los Angeles Naval Reserve Armory beats up everyone perceived to be Hispanic, starting a week-long race riot (see Zoot Suit Riots).
Friday 04: Military coup in Argentina ousts Ramón Castillo.
Saturday 19: Race riots occur in Beaumont, Texas, United States.

July 1943
Friday 09: Allied forces perform an amphibious invasion of Sicily.
Wednesday 14: In Joplin, Missouri, George Washington Carver National Monument becomes the first United States National Monument in honor of an African American.
Monday 19: World War II: Rome is bombed by the Allies for the first time in the war.
Sunday 25: World War II: Benito Mussolini is forced out of office by his own Italian Grand Council and is replaced by Pietro Badoglio.
Wednesday 28: The British bomb Hamburg causing a firestorm that kills 42,000 German civilians.

August 1943
Monday 02: PT-109, with future president of the United States Lieutenant John F. Kennedy aboard, sinks.
Wednesday 11: First Quebec Conference of Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, T. V. Soong and William Lyon Mackenzie King begins.
Tuesday 17: World War II: The US 7th Army under General George S. Patton arrive in Messina, Italy, followed several hours later by the British 8th Army under Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery, thus completing the Allied conquest of Sicily.
Sunday 29: German-occupied Denmark scuttles most of its navy; Germany dissolves Danish government.
Tuesday 31: The USS Harmon, the first U.S. Navy ship to be named for a black person, is commissioned.

September 1943
Tuesday 07: A fire at the Gulf Hotel in Houston, Texas, kills 55 people.
Wednesday 08: World War II: Julius Fucik is executed by Nazis.
Thursday 09: World War II: The Allies land at Salerno and Taranto, Italy.
Friday 10: German forces began their occupation of Rome during World War II.
Sunday 12: Benito Mussolini, dictator of Italy, is rescued from house arrest by German commando Otto Skorzeny

October 1943
Thursday 07: Japan executes 100 American prisoners on Wake Island.
Wednesday 13: World War II: The new government of Italy sides with the Allies and declares war on Germany.
Tuesday 19: Streptomycin, the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis, is isolated by researchers at Rutgers University.
Friday 22: Kassel: RAF conducts an air raid on the city of 236,000 people, killing 10,000, rendering 150,000 homeless. Second firestorm raid in Germany
Thursday 28: The Philadelphia Experiment supposedly occured.

November 1943
Monday 15: German SS leader Heinrich Himmler orders that Gypsies were to be put "on the same level as Jews and placed in concentration camps." (see Porajmos)
Tuesday 16: World War II: American bombers strike a hydro-electric power facility and heavy water factory in German-controlled Vermork, Norway.
Saturday 20: United States Marines land on Tarawa and Makin atolls in the Gilbert Islands and take heavy fire from Japanese shore guns.
Monday 22: Lebanon gains independence from France.
Sunday 28: US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Leader Joseph Stalin meet in Tehran to discuss war strategy.

December 1943
Saturday 04: Great Depression ends in the United States: With unemployment figures falling fast due to World War II-related employment, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt closes the Works Progress Administration.
Friday 24: US General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes the supreme Allied commander
Sunday 26: The German warship Scharnhorst sinks off the coast of North Cape in Norway after being attacked by the British Royal Navy late the previous evening.
Thursday 30: Chandra Bose raises the flag of Indian independence at Port Blair.

Site with drawings of Medan in North Sumatra

This site contains a chilling embedded flash movie and a gallery of drawings and diaries from various War Camps.

http://www.rouveroy.com/