Background

•  Aug 23/14 Japan declares war on Germany

•  Nov 7, 1914

Waldeck surrender

•  Approx 4700 POW

•  16 Camps in Japan

¡  Japan seeking to join the rank of first world countries, thus mindful of international treaties and expectations

¡  Japan conquering, occupying German territory & interning German soldiers and civilians introduces a unique racial-cultural dimension

¡  Germany strongly embraced nationalism, patriotism & cultural constructs

¡  The ‘Golden Age’ of the postcard afforded a valued communication device, one that could reflect circumstances and ideology

¡  Ninoshima Camp is on a small island across the bay from Hiroshima

¡  Ninoshima Camp opened Feb 19, 1917 and closed April 1, 1920

¡  536 German & 9 Austrian POWs were transferred from the closing Osaka camp

¡  Various concerts, performances, sports competitions & exhibitions were known to have taken place in the Osaka & Ninoshima camps

¡  Ninoshima included facilities for bread- making, sausage making, printing, tennis & soccer

¡  An exhibition proposal was made to Camp commander Suganumarai

¡  The exhibition was hosted in the Bussan Exhibition Hall in Hiroshima

¡  16,000 Japanese citizens attended over 9 days in the early Spring of 1919

Exhibition 1919

•  Bilingual handstamp, the two outside Japanese characters designating “Hiroshima”, then ‘Ninoshima Furyo Seisakuhin Tenrankai’ (Exhibition of Handiwork from Ninoshima prisoners)

•  POW #4708 Woserau was exhibition chair

•  Produced a series of

exhibition postcards •  POW #4532 Haupt

coordinated program production

Exhibition Card #1

•  Produced by camp printer POW # 4703 Rudolf Scholz

•  Designed by POW #4608 Paul Schubert

Exhibition Card #1

•  Reverse of card used to relative in Germany (Apr 7)

•  “Exhibition of technical products of German POWs in Ninoshima” (vertical Japanese characters)

Exhibition Card #2

•  Designed by POW #3970 Eugen Liesenfeld

•  Liesenfeld had several paintings in the exhibition

Exhibition Card #2

•  Reverse of card to Germany (Apr 7, earliest usage)

•  Card printed by Rudolf Scholz

Exhibition Card #3

•  Liesenfeld designed card commemorating those fallen in Tsingtau

•  Card printed by Rudolf Scholz

Exhibition Card #3a

•  Card printed printed by Wilhelm & Holona

•  Darker tone, lacking details of previous card

Exhibition Card #3a

•  Reverse of card 3a (Apr 19, 1919 latest use)

•  Intercamp usage to Narashino camp

Exhibition Card #4

•  Depicting the Osaka lager in 1915

•  Printing around design NOT underlined

Exhibition Card #4a

•  Printing around design IS underlined (R. Scholz)

•  Designed by POW #3841 Joseph Brilmayer

Exhibition Card #4a •  Sent by POW # 1595 Tietz to family in Germany

Exhibition Card #5

•  “KUNST GEWERBE” – ARTS TRADE

•  “TECHNIK SCHULWESEN” – TECHNOLOGY SCHOOLING

Exhibition Card #5

•  Sent by POW to family in Germany

•  Card designed by POW Brilmayer

•  DESIGNER: GUSTAV WILHELM •  PRINTER VARIATION

•  POW Gustav Wilhelm, postcard designer and artist was successful in the competition for the cover design

•  The program is 38 pages, listing 321 exhibition entries with contributions from over 100 POWs

Exhibition Program Cover

•  Paintings – 86 entries

•  Handiwork – 142 entries

•  Industrial – 39 entries

•  Education – 25 entries

Exhibition Program Back

Exhibition Program

•  The Program has four main sections featuring POW displays including: The Arts

Exhibition Program •  Handicrafts: including woodworking & metal works

Exhibition Program

•  Technology: including electronics, construction, machines and operational models

Exhibition Program

•  Learning Aspects: including learning materials, collections, cartography, lessons, etc.

•  73% of camp POWs participated in education programs developed & provided by 46 POW ‘teachers’

•  Participants ranging from 3 to 52 per class were to be found in 47 different courses

•  Popular courses included: German, Japanese, Math, Chem, Machinery, Government, Geography & Bookkeeping

•  Specialty courses in electronics, engines, agriculture economics & jurisprudence were also offered

Exhibition Program •  The program featured advertising for services and

products that were available at the exhibition.

•  Barkhof, S. (2017) German Prisoners of War in Japan During the First World

War: Letters from the Colonial Frontline. Journal of War & Culture Studies, 10:3, 253-265, DOI 10.1080/17526272.2017.1309225

•  Ninoshima German POWs’ Camp. Retrieved from http:// www.cf.city.hiroshima.jp/rinkai/heiwa/heiwa008/german%20prisoners %20camp.html

•  Schmidt, H-J. Historisch-biographisches Projekt von Hans-Joachim Schmidt (seit 2002). Retrieved from www.tsingtau.info

•  Seitz, L. (1998) Die Post der Tsingtauer in japanischer Gefangenschaft. Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Sammler deutscher Kolonialpostwertzeichen.