Prisoners - The Return of German Prisoners of War from Japan in the Years after 1918

Kiautschou Bay was taken into possession by the German Reich on November 14, 1897. Early on this area had been identified as a suitable trading base.

The last governor of the leased territory was Naval Captain Meyer-Waldeck (1911-14).

At the outbreak of the First World War, due to the exposed and isolated location of the protectorate, it was clear that it could hardly be defended against a conquest attempt, for example by the Japanese.

The Japanese fleet appeared on August 14, 1914 off the bay of Tsingtau. Approximately 60,000 men were available to the Japanese.

The German garrison numbered about 4,800 men. Many volunteers were among them.

An ultimatum demanded the unconditional and uncompensated surrender of the leased territory by no later than September 15, 1914.

Before or at the entrance to the harbor of Tsingtau the German garrison had scuttled ships.

While the bay was blockaded by the Japanese war fleet, Japanese troops landed on the Shantung Peninsula, i.e. north of Tsingtau, and approached the fortifications by land. Furthermore, intensive bombardment of the German positions began.

The siege lasted about two months, but in the end surrender was inevitable due to numerical inferiority and a lack of ammunition. This took place on November 7, 1914. Beforehand the German garrison had blown up its own guns.

In total the Germans recorded 199 dead and 500 wounded. The Japanese had, according to Dollinger (p. 132), 1,800 dead.

The German prisoners were taken into captivity in Japan. Their captivity was to last five years. In Japan the German prisoners were housed in various camps (Bandō, Fukuoka, Narashino, Nagoya, etc.). Conditions in the first provisional camps were unhygienic, and the food supply critical. The Japanese side had not been prepared for such a number of prisoners.

Over time conditions improved and recreational activities including musical performances (e.g., orchestra, singing society, etc.) and sporting competitions (e.g., football) became possible.

Day trips were also permitted. However, there were (inevitably) cases of cabin fever or deaths, e.g., from the Spanish flu. Furthermore, a certain cultural exchange developed between the Japanese and the Germans.

The Treaty of Versailles of 1919 (signed on June 28) stipulated Germany's renunciation of all rights and property claims relating to the leased territory in favor of Japan. China protested this, and Japan had to return the leased territory to China under the Washington Agreement of 1922. The following year Germany renounced its rights under the former lease agreement with China.

The last German prisoners of war were not to return home until January 1920.