Hong Kong Internment, 1942-1945
Book Review: Hong Kong Internment, 1942-1945 by Geoffrey Charles Emerson
This is a great introduction to Hong Kong’s World War II history. Originally written as a master’s thesis for history, this work approaches the subject matter with sympathy and life-breathing details.
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. Preface
The story begins on January 4, 1942. The English language wartime mouthpiece The Hongkong News published an announcement calling for a “registration” of all enemy civilians in Hong Kong. Enemy civilians, in the Hong Kong context, refers to the non-Axis, non-Chinese civilians in the Colony. Unbeknownst to most, this would be the beginning of three years of internment under the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong.
Stanley was chosen as the site of internment mostly due to its physical attributes. The Stanley peninsula was isolated from the rest of Hong Kong, with land and sea access over which the Japanese could easily exercise control. The Stanley prison grounds and St Stephen’s College provided readily available housing to the initial internees, which numbered something close to 3,000 men, women and children.
The book amply conveys a spirit of survival. In face of severe shortage of food and supplies and all the ensuing problems, the internees showed ingenuity, perseverance and the strength of community. What meagre food that the Japanese provided, they were also in poor quality. As a result, quite a lot of the internees suffered from nutrition deficiency-related illnesses. The population was constantly starving. Despite plea after plea raised by the internees, the Japanese did very little to improve the situation. Thus came the raising of chickens for eggs and garden and terrace farming in the mostly infertile soil of Stanley.
A type of mental problem for almost everyone was what one internee called “barbed wire sickness’, the long hoped for, long awaited release. In spite of keeping busy, ‘no pursuits, no determined ambitions can change that counting of the days, that inner question of “how long, how long?”’ at 106
The internees’ determination to provide education and entertainment in the camp was particularly heartwarming. Not surprisingly, there were many intellectuals in this group of internees. The professors and teachers provided education for all levels of learning, from kindergarten to post-university. The entertainment, including concerts, drama, musicals, and exhibitions were what gave the internees relief from the horrors of confinement. Original scores of plays and music were composed in the Stanley Camp.
In discussing various critical aspects of camp life, the author shows what lied in heart of the internees’ nature. In times of adversity, the internees did not give up hope. They sought to govern themselves under the nose of the Japanese military. They had to learn farming, when most had their food served by servants before the War. By engaging in cultural activities, they connected to their roots when morale was low. Surely, there were fights, thefts, blame, and all sorts of human failures, but the internees appreciated the necessity of community.
When victory came in August 1945, the internees could finally move beyond matters of life and death. “And so we read and hardly dared believe. The sorrows and suffering were over at last; the burden of the years was lifted. Yesterday our chances of survival were few. Today we lived.” At 169.
War and internment are heavy subjects. Yet this book leaves readers with a message of hope by presenting candid portrayals of individuals, community initiatives and many instances of humor. The internment of enemy civilians in the Stanley Camp was but one small piece in Hong Kong’s WWII history, but it certainly shall not be forgotten.