- £375.00
Netherlands East Indies. (Internment Camp - India POW Mail). 1942. Stamp-less envelope headed 'Post of Prisoner of War' written from 'A. Danzmann, Int. Nr. 55646, C.I.C. Dehra Dun, British India' addressed 'To The International Red Cross Committee, Geneve, Delegation for Sumatra/ for Mr. P.C. Danzmann c/o "Deusche Konsulat", Medan, Sumatra' with hand-stamp 'Service of Prisoners of War' in violet with boxed 'Crown/ Passed/ DHN/ 2' and 'DHN/ 9' hand-stamp in violet of Dehra Dun, routed via Geneve, Tehran, Moscow and Tokyo with circular 'Japanese censor cachet in orange and arrival Japanese censor in Medan.
Paul Danzmann was one of 478 German internees being transported from Sibolga to British India via Colombo on the 'S.S. "Van Imhoff" when she was bombed by Japanese war planes off Sumatra '19th January 1942. Out of the 478 internees only 65 survived, 48 made it to the Indies island of Nias and 17 washed ashore on Poelou Simoek.
The cover is written by the son of Paul Danzmann, who had left Alas Vallei Camp on one of the two earlier ships.
Although word of the disaster had reached the Indies no news was known in Dehra Dun Internment Camp. This cover is written by the son of Paul Danzmann from Dehra Dun Camp not knowing if his father had survived the disaster. Paul Danzmann had made it safely tom Nias Island.
Ex Paul Bulterman's Internment Camp collection and illustrated in his book "Nederlands Indies in Oorlog" page 37.
