Survivor book – Definitions & Context

1. What is a Hellship?
The term Hellship now refers to the ships used by the Imperial Japanese Navy to transport allied prisoners of war (POWs) and civilian internees across Asia during the Second World War.
The term “hellship” reflects both the inhumane conditions on board and the extreme suffering endured by those transported.
A Hellship is a ship with atrocious living conditions or with a reputation for cruelty among the crew. Prisoners were often crammed into cargo holds for journeys that could last weeks. These ships were typically overcrowded and many died due to asphyxia, starvation or dysentery as these ships lacked basic necessities such as food, water, sanitation, and medical care. Hellships’ names often contain the word ‘ Maru’ as that is also the word for ship.
Many hellships were unmarked, as the Japanese saw it as a sign of weakness to fly the white flag with a red cross on these ships, as required by the Genevan Convention. Flying the white flap with a red cross is a recognised sign of protection. It would have shown the captains of the allied submarines that these ships were full of POWs. That would have prevented the targeting of these ships by allied submarines and could have potentially saved tens of thousands of lives.
Hellships form a crucial but long-overlooked part of the history of Japanese wartime atrocities.

2. Why were there Hellships journeys?
After capitulation the Japanese rounded up the ‘whites’ in the Indonesian island and put them in prisoner camps as ‘detained citizens’. The detained citizens in the camps were mainly Dutch, American, British and Australian, either in the army or civilians.
As the war progressed the Japanese decided to use their detained citizens as POWs for manual, slave labour, to improve their war efforts. They wanted the prisoners to work in coal mines or to build railway lines to improve the transportation of coal and other industrial tools of war.

3. Who was transported on the Japanese Hellships?
In order to set the meant to work on the railway lines or coal mines, the POWs were transported away from the relative shelter of prison camps together with the rounded up romushas, and taken to work camps. N May 1942 the Japanese began transferring POWs by sea, to labour camps in Japan, Taiwan, Manchuria, Korea, the Moluccas, Sumatra, Burma and Siam (Thailand).

4. What is a romusha?
In order to boost the number of people the Japanese could use for slave labour, they recruited and captured a high number of Asian labourers, whom they called romushas. Romusha was originally the Japanese word for labourer. The romushas were men and boys, who were treated much worse than the POWs by the Japanese. It’s right to say their treatment was often inhumane. They were normally segregated from the POWs.
In total 120,000 Javanese slaves and 5,000 POWs were sent to Sumatra to work on the railway. Most people were sent to work on the Pekanbaru railway line. A small minority were also sent to camps on other parts of the island, such as Medan and Bukittinggi.
Due to the extreme abuse and neglect, there was only around a 20% survival rate of romushas after their two and a half years of working on the railway.

5.  How many people were transported on Hellships?
The exact number is not exactly known, but the latest figures will be researched by the SHSJZ foundation. However, it is clear that more than 100,000 people were transported in Hellships. Some of them have undertaken more than one crossing. There were around 350 crossings on board 182 Hellships. In total, more than 22,000 people died on board the Japnese Hellships between 1942 and 1945 in South East Asia. The largest loss of life on a Hellship was on the Junyo Maru.

6. What was the Junyo Maru?
The Junyo Maru was a Japanese Hellship that sank on 18 September 1944 after being torpedoed by a British submarine off the coast of Sumatra. The ship sank within 15 minutes On board were more than 6,500 people, including thousands of Allied prisoners of war (POW) and Indonesian forced labourers (Romusas).
Over 5,600 people died, making this one of the deadliest maritime disasters of the Second World War. To put this number into context. Nearly five times as many people died on the Junyo Maru than on the Titanic!
Survivors were forced to continue their captivity, many of them sent to labour camps on Sumatra. The survival rate of the POWs is estimated at around 85%, but due to the desperate state of the men who survived the Junyo Maru and subsequent neglect upon arriving, the survival rate of the survivors of the Junyo Maru was only 15%.
The sinking of the Junyo Maru remains one of the least known mass-casualty events of the war.

7. What were Japanese Hellships?
Japanese Hellships were a network of transport vessels used to move POWs and civilian internees between occupied territories. Unlike protected hospital or prisoner transports, these ships were not marked, violating international conventions.
Conditions were brutal: extreme overcrowding, disease, starvation, and abuse were common. Deaths during transport were frequent, even before ships were attacked or sunk.
The Hellships illustrate the systematic neglect and dehumanisation of prisoners under the Japanese wartime system.

8. What was the Pakan Baroe (Pekanbaru) Railway?
The Pakan Baroe Railway (also spelled Pekanbaru Railway) was a railway line constructed in Sumatra by forced labour during the Japanese occupation. Thousands of Allied POWs and tens of thousands of Indonesian labourers (Romushas) were compelled to work under extreme conditions.
Disease, starvation, and violence caused enormous loss of life. The railway was intended to support Japanese logistics but was barely used before the war ended.
Today, it stands as one of the most lethal forced-labour projects of the Second World War.

9. What were Japanese POW camps in the Dutch East Indies?
During the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia), Allied soldiers and civilians were imprisoned in Japanese POW and internment camps. Conditions were harsh, with inadequate food, forced labour, and frequent abuse.
Both military prisoners and civilians—including women and children—were detained. Mortality rates were high, especially among those sent to labour projects such as railways, mines, and airfields.
These camps shaped the wartime experiences of thousands of Dutch, British, Australian, and other Allied families.

10. What was Struiswijk prison in Batavia?
Struiswijk prison was a detention facility in Batavia (present-day Jakarta) used by the Japanese to imprison civilians and political detainees during the occupation. Many internees were later transported to POW camps or labour projects elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
Many internees were later transported to POW camps or forced-labour projects elsewhere in Southeast Asia. For numerous prisoners, Struiswijk marked the beginning of years of captivity, displacement, and hardship.
It represents an early stage in the Japanese internment system in the region.
Struiswijk camp forms the heart of the story Survivor, with Willem describing his time there, the people who inspired him and how he managed to keep his own morale high, as well as that of his fellow inmates.

11. What was POW forced labour in Sumatra?
POW forced labour in Sumatra involved the systematic use of Allied prisoners of war in large-scale construction projects, most notably the Pakan Baroe Railway.
Prisoners endured extreme physical labour, malnutrition, tropical disease, and violence, often without adequate medical care. Death rates were high, and survival frequently depended on resilience, mutual support, and chance.
These labour camps exemplify the severe exploitation of POWs under Japanese rule.

12. What is the Stichting Herdenking Slachtoffers Japanse Zeetransporten (SHSJZ)?
The Stichting Herdenking Slachtoffers Japanse Zeetransporten (SHSJZ) is a Dutch foundation dedicated to commemorating the victims of Japanese sea transports during the Second World War.
The foundation supports research, education, and remembrance activities related to Hellships and maritime POW history. It also contributes to the preservation of survivor testimonies and historical documentation.
SHSJZ has played an important role in increasing awareness of tragedies such as the sinking of the Junyo Maru.
SHSJZ has actively supported awareness around events such as the Junyo Maru disaster.
Willem Punt was the Pater Familias, in that he was the only known survivor of the Junyo Maru for a number of years, and the only person who could actively talk about his experiences onboard the Hellship.

13. What is Bronbeek?
Bronbeek is a national museum and remembrance centre in the Netherlands, dedicated to the country’s colonial and military history. It plays a key role in preserving the memory of the Second World War in Asia.
Bronbeek regularly hosts exhibitions, lectures, and commemorations related to the Japanese occupation, POW experiences, and post-war remembrance.
It serves as an important educational and memorial institution for current and future generations.

14. What are the memorial services held in Bronbeek?

Annual Commemorations at Bronbeek – Second World War
1. Herdenking Birma-Siam & Pakan Baroe spoorwegen
An annual remembrance for the victims and forced labourers of the Birma-Siam and Pakan Baroe railways, constructed under immense suffering during the Japanese occupation. This herdenking highlights POW and romusha experiences on these death railways. bronbeek.nl+1
2. Herdenking Jongenskampen en Vrouwenkampen
This remembrance honours the men, women, and children interned in Japanese civilian camps (mannen- en vrouwenkampen) during the occupation of the Dutch East Indies. It recognises the men’s and women’s wartime imprisonment and loss. bronbeek.nl+1
3. Herdenking Japanse Zeetransporten
Held to remember the victims of Hellships and Japanese sea transport disasters, including the sinking of Junyo Maru and other transports that carried POWs, internees, and forced labourers under brutal conditions. This ceremony has taken place on dates such as 21 September at Bronbeek. bronbeek.nl+1
Other related remembrance activities on or near Bronbeek
Tijdelijke tentoonstelling “Hellships, gevangen op zee”
While not a herdenking service itself, this long-running exhibition (e.g., 4 April – 21 November 2025) focuses on the history of the Hellships and often ties into commemoration events and programming at Bronbeek. bronbeek.nl
Symposium & remembrance events
Foundations such as SHSJZ host symposia and remembrance gatherings at Bronbeek (e.g., in November 2025) that align closely with commemoration themes and bring survivor stories into public view. SHSJZ

• Herdenking Birma-Siam & Pakan Baroe spoorwegen (railway victims) bronbeek.nl
• Herdenking Jongenskampen en Vrouwenkampen (camp internees) bronbeek.nl
• Herdenking Japanse Zeetransporten (sea transport/Hellships) bronbeek.nl
” refers to commemorations held in remembrance of the victims and survivors of Japanese internment and POW camps during the Second World War.
These memorials honour both military prisoners and civilians who suffered under Japanese occupation, as well as those who did not survive. They emphasise remembrance, recognition, and the transmission of historical knowledge.
Such commemorations help ensure that this history is not forgotten.

15. When are the memorials held at Bronbeek?
Notable linked dates often observed at Bronbeek
• 15 August – National remembrance of the end of the war against Japan and liberation (Indiëherdenking), frequently marked with local ceremonies in Arnhem including at Bronbeek.
• August & September – The core month range for the above herdenkingen, with memorials often aligning around mid-August through late September.