- £245.00
Japan. (Netherlands East Indies - Internment Camp Mail). 1941. Picture post card of the "M.S. Asama Maru" written from Kobe dated '13th July 41' bearing Japan SG 322, 10s claret tied by Kobe vernacular date stamp addressed to 'Mr Arnold Speisser, Centraalinterneeringscamp, Alesvallei, Kota Tjane, Blok A, Barak "2", Sumatra, Neth East Indin', routed via Medan with 'Gecensureerd/ 4' censor hand-stamp in carmine. Scarce item of mail from Japan into Ales Vallei Internment Camp (Aceh), Sumatra. A total of 2,285 German internees were housed in 6 Barracks, by late December 41 most had been transferred to Dehra Dun, British India.
The Indies Government gave German woman and children from the Protection camps a chance of repatriation via Japan to Germany at their own expense. On July 4th 1941, 338 women and 322 children left for Japan on the Japanese passenger ship "Asama Maru", hired by the Swiss Consul. However due to the German invasion of the Soviet Union there was no opportunity for them to return to Germany via Siberia. The German evacuees were then housed in Northern China and Japan.
