Between the Covers

Hardcover. Oblong quarto. Cloth over flexible boards with silk ties. 359 gelatin silver photographs. Various sizes, a very few may be commercial images, but the album consists almost entirely of snaphots. Some fading on some images, but overall nice and near fine. Most page separated by glassine leaves. Mostly uncaptioned, a few images have notes in the negative or printed captions in the case of the commercial images. One exception is an 11" x 8" image of a ship dated in 1919 attached inside the front cover, which we suspect was the ship that the compiler hoped to take back to Germany.

From 1897 until 1914 Germany occupied the Shandong Peninsula in China, including the city of Tsingtao. The principle German military presence in the city was the 1st Kompanie, III. Seebataillon. After a two month naval blockade, the Germans, who were greatly outnumbered and running short of ammunition, surrendered to a combined force of Japanese and British after the Siege of Tsintao, which lasted a little more than a week in November 1914. Several thousand German Marines were sent to 12 POW camps in Japan. The compiler of this album was sent to Kurume Camp in Fukuoka Prefecture, where he probably remained until 1920 when the troops were repatriated.

The album begins with a few images of the German presence in Tsingtao including both domestic and military activities, but after a couple of pages quickly gives way to a few dozen images of the Siege itself, including German troops in trenches and advanced positions, barbed wire spread over a narrow river, scenes inside a hospital with nurses treating wounded Marines, troops manning artillery, and damage in the city. These are followed by images of damaged artillery, a grounded and destroyed cruiser, captured troops (including one of Japanese officers posing with beheaded prisoners).

More than half of the album is devoted to photos of the Germans in Kurume Camp with both interior and exterior shots, as well as the layout of the Camp. There are various reports both that the German prisoners were treated well and with respect and others that said that they were tormented by their captors. However, the evidence in this album seems to indicate that the Germans, at least outwardly, received humane treatment.

There are many images of the well-kept camp and the barracks, both inside and out, as well as of the local Japanese population and of Japanese officers dressed either in uniform or informally. Prisoners are shown carrying water, tending the grounds and livestock, digging graves and participating in burial ceremonies, parading in uniform, exercising, posed with a bicycle, bathing in a lake, performing in theatrical performances, and feats of acrobatics, A couple of images show mustachioed Germans in regulation whites playing tennis under the watchful eye of a Japanese guard. The last several pages, presumably after the Armistice but before repatriation, seem a little more relaxed with trips to the countryside, and images of a European nurse and clergyman.

A generous assortment of images taken in a Japanese prison camp in WWI. Very uncommon.

Item #422707