Civilian Internment Camps
in China and Hong Kong during WWII

Main Page    Camp List    About
Close to 14,000 men, women, and children, mostly of British and American nationality, were incarcerated in a number of prison camps as listed below.

List of camps
Book "Captives of the Empire" - includes many camps not listed in NARA records

In Hong Kong
Stanley, Argyle Road

In and around Shanghai
Pootung, Chapei, Lungwha, Ash Camp, Yu Yuen Road, Lincoln Avenue, Haiphong Road, and Great Western Road

Upriver from Shanghai
Yangchow A, Yangchow B, and Yangchow C

In the interior of Shantung Province
Weihsien

For statistics on Asia POW camps, see Asia POW Camp Group History and Asia POW Camp Strengths.

Documents:
Hong Kong POW Camp roster as of Nov. 1, 1944 (RG 407 Box 123) - Complete name list of military and civilian POWs, with statistics: British, Irish, Dutch, American, Danish, Canadian, Portuguese, Australian, Stateless, Norwegian, Russian, Estonian, Czechoslovakian, Iranian, Hungarian, New Zealander, Iraqi and French.
Collection of newspapers from Chapei Assembly Center, March 13 to June 26, 1943
Shanghai and Hong Kong POW Camp rosters (RG 389, Box 2202) - Shanghai camp: US civilians (includes occupations); US Merchant Marine crew; US POWs (USMC Peiping, Tiensing, SS Malama) including Wake Island contractors; US and British civilians; Merchant Marine crew from SS Malama Matson Navigation, SS Vincent Unistates Lines, British merchantmen from SS Benevis; CPNAB civilians, Wake Island; Hong Kong: US civilians at Stanley Camp
Hong Kong death records (RG 407 Box 169) - British, Canadian, Dutch, French, Indian, Portuguese, and American
Shanghai death records (RG 407 Box 169) - American, British, Chinese, and Norwegian
Shanghai deaths (RG 407 Box 190) - Includes military personnel and civilians - American, Norwegian, British, and Chinese. Camp map shows burial sites.
CHINA - Peking, Canton, Glenro, Kiangwan and other camps (RG 389 Box 2121) Note: Not all pages in folders scanned.
Folder 1: Peking, China - American and Chinese POWs Telegrams; Peking and Nanking POW Camp reports. ALL PAGES.
Folder 2: Shamshuipo POW Camp, Hong Kong, China; British POWs. December 16, 1943 and January 31, 1945 Inspection Reports - Argyle Street Camp, Shamshuipo Camp and Bowen Road Military Hospital; Cablegrams.
Folder 3: Hong Kong Military Internment Camp - Kowloon Section. Red Cross Cablegrams. Duplicate of report in Folder 2.  1943 Camp Reports.  Mostly U.S. and British POWs. American, British, Costa Rican, Cuban, Dutch (pages 1, 15), Ecuadorian, Guatemalan, Nicaraguan, Peruvian and stateless civilian internees and POWs referenced.
Folder 4: Hong Kong, China (POW and Civilian) - Letters, 1943 Camp Reports, Red Cross corruption, Red Cross cablegrams (original - Dutch referenced on page 14). U.S., British, Australian, Indian, Chinese, Eurasian, Czech, Portuguese, Russian, West Indian, Colombian, Iranian, French, Estonian, Swiss, Irish, Latvian and stateless POWs.
Folder 5: Bowen Road Military Hospital, Hong Kong, China Red Cross Cablegram Camp Report - September 8, 1944
Folder 6: Canton, China Correspondence regarding 4 American aviators. ALL PAGES.
Folder 7: Glenro Camp Correspondence regarding 2 American NCOs. ALL PAGES.
Folder 8: Naval POW Camp, Kiangwan Road, Shanghai, China. Camp Report - December, 1941 - June, 1942 British, Chinese, Norwegian, Russian, Estonian and American POWs referenced. ALL PAGES.
Folder 9: Kiangwan, China - Folder 1 of 2. Red Cross and Other Camp Reports American military and civilian, British military and Wake Island civilian POWs referenced, as well as Russian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian, Polish, Greek and Chinese POWs.
Folder 10: Kiangwan, China - Folder 2 of 2.  Corporate, Red Cross and other communiqués, letter excerpts and airgrams. Includes Kobe, Philippines and Guam.  American and British POWs referenced.
Folder 11: Kiangwan POW Camp, Shanghai. U.S., British and Italian POWs referenced. Correspondence, roster of U.S. Officers in receipt of Central Reserve Bank notes, photograph (Omori near Tokyo - interior of barracks),
Folder 12: Shanghai, China. U.S., British, Italian and Norwegian POWs referenced. Red Cross cablegram.
Folder 13: 723 Stanley Camp (Civilian and Military Camp - Hong Kong, China). Memoranda, narratives, camp conditions and details, etc. South African, Canadian, British, American, Dutch, Norwegian, Belgian and Irish repatriates and/or internees referenced.
Folder 14: Kiangwan, China - Folder I (2 of 2). Red Cross telegrams, letters, intelligence reports, etc. American, British, Peruvian and Italian internees referenced.
Folder 15: Bridge House Jail, Shanghai, China. Telegrams, report of camp conditions, American, Chinese, British, Russian, Italian and Norwegian internees referenced.
Folder 16: Kiangwan, China - Folder II (1 of 2) - Thick folder. American, British, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian and Estonian internees referenced. Letter detailing camp life and conditions, Red Cross and other reports, telegrams, photographs, newspaper clippings, etc.
Folder 17: Fengtai, China - American, Norwegian, Italian, British and Estonian internees referenced. Reports detailing camp life and conditions, death rolls, letters, lots of negatives of camp photograph, etc.