Japanese Civilian Prison Camps
Japanese Civilian Prison Camps in the Netherlands East Indies
INDEX
The camps were mainly located on four principal islands
Background
The Japanese Imperial Regime committed itself to the capture of the Netherlands East Indie (NEI) on November 26 1941, as an act of desperation. By that date the Japanese Imperial fleet destined to eliminate United States interference was already at sea, stationed to the north of Hawaii. The desperation arose out of Japan’s inability to halt its war of conquest in China, or to force Chinese surrender while its military machine was starved of fuel thanks to a trade embargo imposed by President Rooseveldt , and the decision by the NEI colonial regime to do likewise . The Japanese High Command undertook to achieve its objective within 120 days , but owing to weaker than expected allied defense, succeeded within 90 days . On March 8, 1942 The Netherlands East Indies capitulated .
Japanese Policy Objective
The objective of establishing Civilian prison camps was to eliminate all signs of western influence from the Netherlands East Indies. This objective was driven by a combination of strategic and political considerations at the cost of weakening the economic potential of the NEI. The scorched earth policy implemented by the Colonial regime to thwart Japan’s access to the oil wealth of the NEI ensured that the Japanese government saw the entire European population as firmly hostile. A policy of ethnic cleansing moreover had the attraction of winning support among the huge indigenous population.
The subsequent policy of progressive western civilian incarceration mostly affected five Indonesian islands : Java , Sumatra , Celebes ( today’s Sulawesi ), Borneo and Timur, although tiny European settlements ( mostly missions) had bene established on many other islands.
Implementation of Japanese ethnic cleansing policies
The process of ethnic cleansing started almost immediately following capitulation , and involved a two stage process:
- Removal of all Europeans from their economic roles
- Systematic concentration of the European population to facilitate control
The detail of these process varied from island to island , and in the case of Java , a contrast arose between policy on east Java and the remainder of the island. In this case naval authorities managed the eastern part where the naval base, Surabaja, was located, and the Japanese army managed the remainder of Java.
Internment on Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes and Timur followed a different pattern.