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Re: Seeking names of ex-Dutch POWs transported from Nagasaki to Okinawa
Sylvia Naylor
Dec 20, 2019 12:14 PM
Dear Mr. van Oosten,
Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!
We searched the National Archives Catalog for any records on Dutch POWs. The search produced the following results.
The return home of the Dutch POWs in 1945 was conducted by the Repatriation of Allied Prisoners of War and Internees organisation (RAPWI). However their repatriation was complicated by the outbreak of the Indonesian independence struggle in the Netherlands East Indies. More than 10 000 Dutch survivors had to wait in Thailand and were even joined by 4000 women and children escaping the violence in Java. They were repatriated from April to November 1946. For more information, please see a publication by the U.S. Center of Military History titled “Reports of General MacArthur. MacArthur in Japan: The Occupation: Military Phase,” especially Chapter IV: Relief of Prisoners of War and Internees.
Also, it would be helpful if you knew the names of the ships the POWs were transported by. You might want to look at a list of ships involved with Operation Magic Carpet - the repatriation of American POWs being held in Japan as they might list which ships took other Allied POWs.
We hope this information is helpful. Best of luck with your research!