BEIJING, Aug. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Several months after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, many Westerners living in China were rounded up by occupying Japanese forces and taken to various camps. Weihsien Internment Camp was the largest Japanese camp in China during the Second World War. It was located in Weifang city in Shandong province. Our reporter Liu Li spoke to a survivor from the camp about what life was like during those harsh times.
In early 1943, around 2,250 civilians from the US, UK, Australia and other European countries living in northern China were brought here. They would be interned for almost three years. Amongst them, more than 300 were children. Angela Louise Cox was one of those children.
"I was born in Weihsien camp. October, 1943. Just born there after a few months everybody was sent to camp," Angela Louise Cox said.
Angela was too young to remember the experience. Her memories are from stories told by her parents, her cousin, and her friends. She feels an indelible connection to the camp which was her home in the initial years of her life. She came back for the first time for the commemoration event in 2005.
"So many years I heard about Weihsien, Weihsien, and I actually came back. That’s why I urged my friends in Toronto area,"yes, you should come back see where you were born," Angela Louise Cox said.
The prisoners of Weihsien did not face the terrible fate of many prisoners of war under the Japanese, but they did endure hardship. Sanitary conditions were very poor. The winters were cruel and there was a lack of medical care. But the overwhelming memory for the detainees was the lack of food.
"Apparently in the morning was Gaoliang millet porridge, probably more water than porridge, very thin," Angela Louise Cox said.
But Chinese people living around the camp came to their rescue.
"The Chinese people were really helpful. Some people did get in trouble. And I think one man was shot," Angela Louise Cox said.
Ms. Cox’s words were echoed by a Chinese local Zhang Xihong, whose family lived near the camp.
"There was mostly a shortage of eggs and sugar. Local Chinese took many risks to smuggle food over the wall. A young man called Han Xiang fell on the electronic wire fencing and was burnt. The Japanese left his corpse on the wall for two days as a warning," Zhang said.
Despite the horrors of war, the detainees were determined to continue on with life.
"They made a lot of social events. They put on plays. They were good singers, they sing some kind of operas, and they used different thing to make costumes. They did a lot of things like that," Angela Louise Cox said.
Adults led classes, set up bands, and taught painting. Teachers in the camp insisted on strict teaching guidelines. Internees practiced a Victory Melody of four national anthems including the Chinese, American, English, and Russian anthems. They were always waiting for the day they would be freed. That day came on August 17, 1945, when the US arranged rescue planes to liberate the camp.
This building is one of the last remnants of the camp, but stories of the detainees and their supporters beyond the wall are a testament to the fact that unity and hope can overcome oppression.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
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