WHY THE JAPANESE INTERMENT STILL MATTERS

Submitted by Elizabeth van Kampen (Netherlands), Mar 24, 2008 at 11:09

I find it quite sad that those Japanese who were really Americans were put in camps, while many Japanese war criminals were never really punihyed after WWII. Some of them became even ministers in the Japanese Cabinet from after the war. And as from 1957 no war criminal was anymore in prison because the Emperor from Japan asked such from many countries, also from my country Holland. The German war criminals stayed in prison until the bitter end.

So, of course I feel sorry for the Japanese Americans being interned while they were not the enemy. It shouldn't have happened.

But I am also hoping that some of you will read my website: www.dutch-east-indies.com

I was put into a horrible prison/camp on Java by the Japanese Army as a teenager and had to do slave work. My father and my uncle were killed by the Kempeitai.

I saw Australian and Dutch men fold almost double in bamboo baskets pile up in trucks by the Japanese Kempeitai. I saw little boys taken away from their mothers brought men camps. I really hope that you will read about the Japanese military behaviour toward the Dutch citizens, men, women and children in the former Dutch East indies. Form it is a completely ignored part of WWII in the Far East.

We never received an apology from the Japanese Goverment, and of course no compensation either.They prefer to ignore us completely. And so does the Dutch Goverment, no openly apology ( while they declared war on Japan 8th December 1941) and of cour also no compensation.

We fell between two stools, and completely ignored by the whole world.

Mrs. Elizabeth van Kampen

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