Hong Kong Internment, 1942-1945: Life in the Japanese Civilian Camp at Stanley

Preface

Preface This thesis tells the story of a group of people who found themselves caught in Hong Kong on 8 December 1941, when the Pacific War began. This group, non-Chinese nationals of the countries at war with Japan, consisted almost entirely of civilians, and most of them within a month of the surrender on 25 December 1941, found themselves in Stanley Civilian Internment Camp. Since 1945, indeed since 1941, many studies have been made of the military aspects of Japan’s attempt to establish the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Few studies, however, have dealt with Japan’s treatment of enemy civilians during the war period. In fact, in my research I have not come across any academic theses concerning enemy civilians. Largely, I think, the reason is that the Second World War is too recent, and in dealing with the treatment of enemy civilians, one is dealing with a subject in which personal feelings are still strong. One of the main conclusions to come from this thesis is that the Japanese, in their meticulous planning for establishing their Empire, neglected to formulate plans for dealing with enemy civilians. Their treatment varied so greatly from place to place and was so inconsistent even within one place, that there must have been no general guidelines laid down by Tokyo. Stanley Camp is a good example of this, particularly of the inconsistency, as will be shown by an examination of the three and one-half years of internment. Telford Taylor, professor of law at Columbia University, makes the point that German war crimes, e.g. extermination, deportation and executions, were a matter of state policy, but Japanese actions as cited at war crime trials were very seldom charged as being a matter of state policy; rather, they arose out of individual decisions. This point is borne out in my research and from the reading I have done concerning civilian internment camps in the Far East and in particular concerning Stanley Internment Camp. Though geographically very limited, Stanley Camp was a full-scale community in miniature, dependent upon the outside world for food alone. In the Camp there were people of all ages and all classes. Looking at the Camp, one can find fertile ground for the economist, the sociologist, the psychologist, the medical scientist, etc. The historian cannot do the job of other scholars, but he can gather the facts as completely as possible 00c(p.33-34)Preface.indd 33 1/11/08 1:16:33 PM 34 Hong Kong Internment, 1942 to 1945 and then attempt to interpret these facts to arrive at a historical conclusion. This is what this thesis sets out to do, with respect to the civilian internment community at Stanley. Most of the research was done in Hong Kong, and at the libraries of the British Museum, the University of London, the Imperial War Museum and the New York Public Library. During the occupation, one English newspaper was published, The Hongkong News, and a set is in the library of the University of Hong Kong. There are, perhaps surprisingly, very few names herein. Only the main individuals are identified. This has been intentional for several reasons. Being an event of fairly recent history, many of the internees are still alive, and to avoid causing possible embarrassment to any of them has been a constant consideration. Furthermore, as some of the material has been obtained in personal interviews, the confidence and good faith of the writer has necessitated discretion. It would have been an easy, though very timeconsuming , task to list the names of the hundreds of people who played their parts in this drama, but for what good purpose? This could only cause confusion or tedium for the reader, or even possibly resentment from those who recalled the events from the past. But most important, a plethora of names is not necessary. Correspondence was conducted with a number of former internees who have retired to Australia, England and the United States, and personal interviews were held with twenty-two former internees in Hong Kong and one in London. A description of the interviews may be found on p. 181. I would, however, like to take this opportunity to note that it was a pleasure to talk with the former internees, many of whom have lived exceedingly interesting lives in the Far East. The kindness of these people in allowing interviews made the subject truly come to life and also provided pleasant interludes from the...