LES CAMPS D'INTERNEMENT JAPONAIS 1944-1945

Avant la fin de la guerre, les Japonais, qui avaient envahi une partie de la Chine à partir de 1937, internèrent à partir de 1943 nombre d'Occidentaux, censés être pro-chinois du fait de la politique pro-occidentale de la Chine. Ce mouvement concerna les religieux-religieuses par exemple, et entre-autre, le personnel dirigeant des Mines de Kaiping et le personnel de la CTET dont le principal du Staff était précisément constitué d'Occidentaux et qui nous concerne. Aujourd'hui, il subsiste dans les archives des traces de ces internements qui furent à l'origine d'heures sombres pour la famille et préludèrent à sa dispersion dans le monde.

Before the end of the war, the Japanese who had invaded a part of China in 1937, interned after 1943 many Westerners are supposed to be pro-Chinese because of the China pro-western position . This movement consists of religious e.g. , and in between each other, personnel manager of the Kaiping Mines and staff whose main Staff of the CTET was comprised of Western and specifically for us.

Today, there are still traces in the archives of those internment, which were originally dark hours for family and a prelude to its spread worldwide.

 

En attendant des informations fournies par la famille (car elles existent), ainsi que des photographies, les talents de Monsieur Roland Dussart-Desart nous donnent quelques indications sommaires à ce sujet. Les études de Monsieur Dussart-Desart concernant la période des internements ont été publiées dans la revue Tramania n° 14 du troisième trimestre 2008. Sa principale source provient des archives de la CTET déposées aux Archives générales du Royaume de Belgique à Bruxelles (AGR).

Pending information from the family (as they exist), and photographs, the talents of Mr. Roland Dussart Desart we give some brief indications on this. Studies of Mr. Dussart Desart on the period of internment were published in the journal Tramania No. 14 in the third quarter of 2008. His main source is the folders of the CTET in Archives générales du Royaume of the Kingdom of Belgium in Brussels (AGR).

 

Les internements couvrent la période 1944-1945

Internment cover the period 1944-1945

- Il semble que certaines familles aient été déplacées tandis que d'autres semblaient être simplement assignées à résidence. Les villes d'internement ont été nombreuses. Celles qui concernent le personnel des Mines et de la CTET sont Weihsien (situé entre Tientsin et Tsingtao), Yangshow, Lungwha (près de Shanghai). Les données semblent parfois confuses; ainsi, pour Weihsien, on trouve Paternoster F et Hélène, alors que nous ne connaissons pas ce F. mais Hélène pourrait être la femme de Paul Splingaerd mais elle est citée à un autre endroit. Ce F. Splingaerd ne peut être que Paul. On ne parle pas de Renée Splingaerd, née en 1927 ni de Christiane Splingaerd, née en 1930 mais il n'est pas exclu qu'elles étaient en Europe à cette époque.

- It seems that some families have been displaced while others seemed to just be under house arrest. Cities internment were numerous. Those concerning personnel Mines and CTET are Weihsien (located between Tientsin and Tsingtao) Yangshow, Lungwha (near Shanghai). The data seem confusing sometimes, so for Weihsien, found Paternoster F. and Helen, while we do not know what F. but Helen would be the wife of Paul Splingaerd but she is cited elsewhere. This F. Splingaerd can only be Paul. We are not talking Splingaerd Renee, born in 1927 or Splingaerd Christiane, born in 1930 but it is not excluded that they were in Europe at that time.

 

WEIHSIEN CAMP
Shantung Province
(March 1943 - August 1945)

Located two miles east of Weihsien, the American Presbyterian Compound in Weihsien was known by the Chinese name of "Courtyard of the Happy Way." Its Shadyside Hospital, constructed in 1924, was considered one of the best constructed mission hospitals in North China.  However, by the time internees arrived, all useable equipment had been looted or carried off.  Student dormitories, consisting of rows and rows of rooms, as well as large buildings originally used as classrooms and libraries, housed the internees.  One of the largest camps in China, Weihsien housed, at one time or another, almost 2,250 internees.  Two internees who escaped provided information on the camp to OSS operatives in Chungking, while remaining in the vicinity of the camp with Nationalist guerillas.  At the end of the war Weihsien was the scene of an exciting drama when a seven member OSS team parachuted near the camp and were welcomed by the overjoyed internees.  Afterwards, Chinese Communist guerilla activity prevented the evacuation of the camp.  After an initial group was removed by rail to Tsingtao, the railway line was blown up.  Internees were finally airlifted out by Army Air Force planes.

 

- Paradoxal, l'internement ou la mise en résidence à Weihsien de Lucien Pourbaix et de Marie Splingaerd, que l'on ne pouvait pas vraiment soupçonner de manque d'affinité avec les Japonais. Idem pour leur fils Paul Pourbaix, né en 1941 et qui était donc âgé de trois ou quatre ans à cette époque.
- Jean-Baptiste Splingaerd, l'homme qui avait créé un Etat dans l'Etat à la CTET et sa femme et nièce Margueritte Splingaerd.

- Paradoxically, the internment or placing in residence at Weihsien for Lucien Pourbaix and Marie Splingaerd, we could not really suspect lack of affinity with the Japanese. Ditto for their son Paul Pourbaix, born in 1941 and was therefore aged three or four years at the time.
- Jean-Baptiste Splingaerd, the man who had created a state within a state to CTET and his wife and niece Marguerite Splingaerd.

- Et, sans savoir exactement où, Joseph Splingaerd, fils de Remy, sa femme Mary Anderson, Jean-Pierre, son fils. Mais encore Paul et Hélène, leurs enfants Renée et Christiane Splingaerd, et une Anna qui devait être la fille de Joseph (ou la tante religieuse). D'après Anne Splingaerd, il semble qu'ils aient été seulement victimes d'une mise à résidence.
- Enfin, pour mémoire, le père de Lucien, le baron Paul Pourbaix, fut interné à Nagasaki (Japon) en 1944 avant de mourrir dans un hôpital de Kobe (au sud d'Osaka), le 14 janvier 1945, ceci quelques mois avant que la bombe atomique "made in USA" n'éclate sur la ville de Nagasaki, le 9 août 1945.

- And, without knowing exactly where, Joseph Splingaerd , son of Remy, his wife, Mary Anderson, Jean-Pierre, his son. But Paul and Helen, their children Renee and Christiane Splingaerd, and Anna was the daughter of Joseph (or aunt). According to Anne Splingaerd, it seems that they were only victims of last residence.
- Finally, for the record, the father of Lucien, Baron Paul Pourbaix, was interned in Nagasaki (Japan) in 1944 before dying in a hospital in Kobe (south of Osaka), 14 January 1945, several months before this that the atomic bomb "made in USA" erupted on the city of Nagasaki, August 9, 1945.

Ceci clôture les informations en provenance de la CTET qui ne mentionne évidemment que la situation de leurs employés, encore que Laurent Pourbaix, le frère de Lucien ne soit pas cité alors qu'il travaillait comme traducteur sino-japonais avec son frère à la CTET.

That concludes the information from the CTET which obviously does not mention the status of their employees, although Laurent Pourbaix, the brother of Lucien is not mentioned when he worked as a translator between China and Japan with his brother to CTET.

 

FAMILLE KEET

Dans un message de Alan Keet, OBE, il rappelle:

"I remember well the 2 nuns, our grand aunts CLARA and DOSITHE where our parent, DICK and MADELEINE KEET, and we, their 4 children, used to visit them every Sunday in the catholic convent and orphanage in XI KA HUI Shanghai when we lived in 1942 in number 316 Route Legendre - Shanghai - French Concession near Pierro Olliviers Post de Foch before we were interned by the Japanese conquerors in YEU YUEN ROAD Camp where Jean-Pierre was born in G Blok".

HELLO EVERYONE , I AM ALAIN KEET O.B.E. IN SINGAPORE . LUCKILY I CAN READ SOME FRENCH . I HOPE YOU CAN READ MY ENGLISH . I AM WRITING TO TELL YOU ALL THAT MY BRITISH FATHER ( DICK KEET ) AND MY MOTHER ( MARIE MADELEINE SPLINGAERD ) WITH THEIR 4 YOUNG CHILDREN ( FRANCOIS , ALAIN , NOEL AND ARLETTE ) WERE ALSO INTERNED IN 1943 BY THE JAPANESE IN ''YEU YEN ROAD CAMP '' IN SHANGHAI WHERE MY YOUNGEST BROTHER ( JEANPIERRE ) WAS BORN . AND IN 1944 WE WERE MOOVED AT MIDNIGHT UNDER ARMED ESCORT TO A VERY BAD ''YANG TZE POO CAMP '' .. AFTER LIBERATION BY THE AMERICANS IN 1945 , OUR FAMILY OF 7 LEFT SHANGHAI IN 1947 ON STEAM SHIP '' ARUNDEL CASTLE '' FOR SINGAPORE AND A MONTH LATER WE SET SAIL ON MOTOR SHIP '' CHARON '' FOR FREMANTLE , AUSTRALIA WHERE WE MIGRATED TO AND WE ALL BECAME AUSTRALIAN CITIZENS WHILST STILL RETAINING OUR BRITISH NATIONALITY

Bonjour tout le monde, je suis Alain Keet, O.B.E. de Singapour.

Heureusement, je peux lire un peu le français. J'espère que vous pourrez lire mon anglais. Je vous écris pour vous dire tout de ce que mon père Britannique (Dick Keet) et ma mère (Marie Madeleine Splingaerd) [Belge] avec leurs 4 jeunes enfants (FRANCOIS, ALAIN, NOEL et ARLETTE) furent également internés en 1943 par les Japonais au camp de ''YEU YEN ROAD CAMP '' à Shanghai où mon plus jeune frère (JEAN-PIERRE) est né. Et en 1944, nous fûmes déplacés à minuit, sous escorte armée vers un très mauvais camp, le « YANG POO TZE CAMP ». Après la Libération par les Américains en 1945, notre famille de 7 [personnes] quitta SHANGHAI en 1947 à bord du navire à vapeur « Arundel Castle » vers Singapour et un mois plus tard nous embarquâmes sur le navire à moteur « Charon » pour Fremantle, en Australie, où nous avons émigré et nous sommes tous devenus citoyens australiens tout en conservant notre nationalité Britannique.

Yu Yuen Road camp, like Ash Camp, held a large number of former Shanghai Municipal Council employees.  Located at 404 Yu Yuen Road, it was composed of the grounds and buildings of the Western District Public School and the Shanghai Public School for Girls.  "G Block" was the Girls' School, next to the Fire Station, "B Block" was the Boys' School, and "T Camp" were temporary wooden huts along Tifeng Road which had been constructed to house British troops during an emergency.  Internees were moved near the end of the war to Yangtzepoo.  972 internees were held at Yu Yuen Road throughout the internment period.

Map of Yu Yuen Road civilian internment camp drawn by K Smith Mitchell.

Yangtzepoo (Eastern Area number 3 Camp)

The Japanese had taken over the Sacred Heart Hospital, located in the middle of the industrial Yangtzepoo district, for their own use during the war.  As bombing raids increased in 1945, the Japanese moved out and occupied the camps at Yu Yuen Road and the Columbia Country Club, which were known to the Allies as internment camps, and moved those internees to the Sacred Heart Hospital site at 41 Ningkuo Road on 27/28 April, 1945.  The hospital, which was evacuated by the Japanese just hours before the move, was left in an indescribably filthy condition.  The compound was surrounded by twelve foot walls and contained five rat infested, two story buildings, in decaying condition.  There, near the river and close to the gas works, waterworks, barracks, and armament stores, the over 1300 internees from Great Western Road and Yu Yuen Road camps waited out the end of the war, weathering Allied air raids in increasingly difficult conditions.

Voici ce que nous proposait Alan Keet et Franck Keet en 2015:

DEAR FRANK , NOEL , ARLETTE AND JEAN-PIERRE ,
 LOOK,  IF YOU ARE ABLE TO OPEN THIS LINK , IT IS A PICTURE OF OUR YU YUEN ROAD CAMP IN SHANGHAI . THERE IS AN ARROW ON THE TOP OF THE PICTURE WITH THE INSCRIPTION ‘’ OUR HOME ‘’ POINTING TO OUR G-BLOCK  . OUR FAMILY ROOM WAS ON LEVEL 3 OF G-BLOCK .  DO YOU REMEMBER ?
 CHEERS
 ALAN

Yes, Alan I remember it well, we were in G block 1941-1942, righthandside of
the sketch facing Yu Yuen Road. Then in 1943 to ground floor of B block
before moving the entire camp, I thought, to Yangzepoo 1944-1945.

The sketch shows the dates 1943-1945, a few other descriptions look strange.
Never mind
Best wishes
Frank

 

LES RELIGEUSES SPLINGAERD
En ce qui concerne les religieuses, nous savons seulement que les soeurs Splingaerd Rosa, 66 ans et Anna, 58 ans furent internées à la Résidence de Zikawei Senmouyeu à ou près de Shanghaï. Après un passage par Hong-Kong, elles partirent ultérieurement en France où elles sont décédées dans l'Essonne, dans la maison de retraite des Dames Auxiliatrices des Ames du Purgatoire. Rappelons que leur soeur aînée Marie était décédée à Shanghai en 1933 tandis que Clara était à San Francisco (USA) depuis longtemps avant la guerre.

THE NUNS SPLINGAERD
With regard to the religious, we only know that the sisters Rosa Splingaerd , age 66 and Anna, 58 were interned at the Residence of Zikawei Senmouyeu at or near Shanghai. After passing through Hong Kong, they later went to France where they have died in the Essonne, in the retirement home of the Ladies Auxiliatrices of Souls in Purgatory. Recall that their elder sister Mary had died in Shanghai in 1933, while Clara was at San Francisco (USA) since long before the war.

PATERNOSTER
La famille belge Paternoster (Albert et Lucie Splingaerd) étant rentrée en Belgique en 1934, ils n'eurent pas à subir cette période. Idem pour les Muller. Cependant, leur fils Remy Paternoster était revenu en Chine pour travailler avec son oncle (Jean-Baptiste Splingaerd) et son cousin Paul Splingaerd qui avaient une excellente position à la CTET à Tientsin. On sait cependant que Stéphanie Kunievich, épouse de Remy Paternoster et leur fils Michel Paternoster ont été internés, sans précisions. Remy était à cette époque en Angleterre comme volontaire de guerre.

PATERNOSTER
The Belgian Paternoster family (Albert and Lucie Splingaerd) being returned to Belgium in 1934, they did not have to endure this period. Ditto for Muller. However, their son, Remy Paternoster returned to China to work with his uncle (Jean-Baptiste Splingaerd) and his cousin Paul Splingaerd who had an excellent position to CTET in Tientsin. However, we know that Stephanie Kunievich, Remy Paternoster's wife and their son Michael Paternoster were interned without clarification. Remy was at that time in England as a war volunteer.

 

MENU D'UN INTERNE (Tramania, Op. Ct., page 16)

Alors que la Croix-Rouge juge la nourriture "bonne" et que le gouvernement belge se demande s'il faut accorder "un extra" à ses ressortissants internés, voici le menu quotidien d'un camp d'internement, décrit par un Belge anonyme (sans doute des mines de Kaiping): Matin: espèce de poussière grise delayée dans de l'eau; le dimanche, congé, de l'eau avec un peu de riz dedans; pas de sel ni sucre Midi: "stew": une petite louche, mélange de citronelle, navet, eau de vaisselle, épluchures de pomme de terre et quelquefois quelques vagues morceaux de buffle, toujours de la terre et du sable - 1 ou 2 cuillères à soupe de riz Soir: haricots rouges ou farine de maïs à l'eau - une louche. Du pain que je n'ai jamais pu digérer MENU DES DERNIERS MOIS Matin: rien Midi: un petit morceau de tripe pourrie et verte et une cuillère de riz Soir: un jour sur deux, haricots rouges comme je donnais à ma vache aux mines, l'autre jour rien, le tout sale, ignoble, plein de bois et de vers de terre. Ils n'avaient que l'eau du fleuve bouillie, dans laquelle il y avait autant à boire qu'à manger.

While the Red Cross finds the food "good" and that the Belgian Government wondered whether to grant a "extra" to its nationals interned, here is the daily diet of an internment camp, described by an anonymous Belgian (probably from Kaiping mines): Morning: kind of gray dust dissolved in water, Sunday, holiday, water with a little rice in it, no salt or sugar Noon: "stew" a little fishy, a mixture of lemon grass, turnips, water dishes, peel potatoes and sometimes vague pieces of buffalo, still earth and sand - 1 or 2 tablespoons rice Evening: red beans or corn flour with water - a ladle. Bread that I never could digest MENU OF LAST MONTH Morning: nothing Lunch: a small piece of rotten tripe and green and a spoon rice Dinner: every other day, red beans as I gave in the mine to my cow, the other day nothing, all dirty, disgusting, full of wood and earthworms. They had only boiled water from the river, where there was much drinking as eating.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FAMILLE COX
En ce qui concerne cette famille, nous avons quelques renseignements supplémentaires. George Cox et Philomène Splingaerd (la soeur d'Hortence et de Madeleine) avaient deux enfants: Kenneth et Angela, le premier né à Tientsin et l'autre née au camp de Weihsien en 1943. C'est la famille qui est restée le plus longtemps en Chine continentale, après la guerre. George était employé de cadre au "Credit Foncier de l'Extreme Orient".
Sa famille fut également internée à Weihsien comme l'attestent les documents qui suivent que nous devons à Desmon Power:

COX FAMILY
With regard to this family, we have some additional information. George Cox and Philomena Splingaerd ('s sister Hortensia and Madeleine) had two children: Kenneth born in Tientsin and Angela, born in Weihsein . The family stayed the longest in mainland China after the war. George was employed as a framework for "Credit Foncier of the Far East. "
His family was also interned at Weihsien as evidenced by the following documents that are from Desmon Power:

 

"Perhaps a little more should be said about George Cox, the Weihsien prison camp tinsmith, who figured in the closing paragraph of my June 30 posting. He was the ever popular George Edward Cox, born and raised in Tientsin, graduate of St Louis College, secretary at Credit Foncier de l'Extreme Orient, and serving with the Tientsin Volunteer Defence Corps at the time of Pearl Harbor. He would be the first to acknowledge that he was outshone by his wife, Philomena Splingaerd who was granddaughter of Paul Splingaerd the most highly honoured foreigner in China during the Ching Dynasty, a Belgian raised to the ninth level of Mandarin as decreed by the Imperial Court. LA VIE DANS LES CAMPS - THE LIFE INTO THE CAMP After Pearl Harbor, I was separated from Tai-tai (our mother), Tony and Betty. They were put in Weihsien camp in Shantung Province. I was down in Shanghai in Pootung camp, then moved to Lunghwa (of Empire of the Sun fame). In January 1944 the Japanese moved me up north to Weihsien. As I proceeded through the camp's main gate, my heart leapt to my throat. There in a cluster of internees stood Tai-tai. A shabby smock hung from her shoulders. Her dark auburn hair, now streaked with gray, was tied in a bun. Her cheekbones protruded, but her eyes shone with the fierce look of determination I knew so well. As I was led to the guardhouse to be searched, she shouted out: "You're all skin and bones. Never mind, we'll fatten you up." On my second day in Weihsien, I discovered that Tai-tai had no bucket. Because all our drinking water, toilet water, laundry water had to be pumped up by hand, a bucket was an inmate's most prized possession. For two years, Tai-tai had managed with an enamel wash basin, but managed to carry water in it from the pump to her hut without spilling too much. In my job as a stoker in Tientsin Kitchen which catered to 900 inmates from that city, I started at 3:00 am to get the fires going in the huge cauldrons so that the gruel would be cooked in time for breakfast. The cooks came on at 6:00 am. Alone in the kitchen I stared at the row of shining buckets all there for the taking. To me it was perks, fair and square. At 5:00 am I deposited a bucket outside her hut. As luck would have it, the bucket sprang a leak and Tai-tai took it to the camp tinsmith, George Cox, for repair. George, who happened to spot "TK" tooled into its base, mentioned that to that fine TGS Science master Mr Foxlee in the hearing of Peter Lawless, Chief of Police in Tientsin's British Concession, now head of Camp Discipline. When word spread through the camp that an investigation was under way for the theft of the bucket, Tai-tai crashed into the Discipline office and delivered such a tongue lashing to the poor beleaguered police chief, who knew very well from old of her fiery spirit and sagacity as a fighter that he thought twice about laying charges. George, an old family friend, was so dismayed by the trouble he caused, presented Tai-tai with a shiny new bucket with her name tooled into the base."

The drawing above, by Jeremy Power of North Vancouver BC, shows Tientsin internees lining up for breakfast.

 

Merci à Desmon Power

 

FAMILLES DIVERSES
Enfin, terminons provisoirement cet article qui concerne les camps japonais, en attendant d'autres informations, en disant que d'autres familles alliées qui étaient encore en Chine ont probablement été soumises également à ces tragiques internements assortis de misère et de privations. Ceux-ci engendrent une pudeur et une discrétion des familles telles que le souvenir s'en perd et que, dans moins de vingt-cinq ans, les témoins directs de ces évènements auront disparus ainsi que les possibles témoignages que nous devons à l'histoire.

VARIOUS FAMILIES
Finally, provisionally conclude this article on the Japanese camps, pending further information, saying that other allied families who remained in China were probably also subject to these tragic internment bound misery and deprivation. They generate a modesty and discretion of families such as the memory of it lost, and that in less than twenty-five years, direct witnesses of those events are gone as well as possible evidence that we owe to history.

 

Pour ceux qui nous suivront, nous attendons de la documentation de la part de la famille.

For those who follow us, we expect the documentation from the family

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Christian Goens - La Louvière - Belgium - septembre 2007 - février 2011- tous droits réservés