News item | 31-08-2022 | 16:50
The Netherlands Institute of Military History (NIMH) started the Van Imhoff research yesterday. The Dutch merchant ship was bombed on January 19, 1942 and sank to the bottom of the Indian Ocean. More than 400 people were killed in this. In the coming 2 years, efforts will be made to give a face to the victims of the disaster.
Many of these victims were civilians of German or Austrian descent. They were captured in the Dutch East Indies. The intention was to take them to internment camps in British India because of the expected Japanese attack on the Dutch East Indies. After the ship was bombed by a Japanese plane, the Dutch crew and guards left without caring for the internees. More than 400 of the 500 died.
The historical research focuses, among other things, on the imprisonment of these citizens. This happened purely because of their German or Austrian origin. The shipping disaster itself and the aftermath for relatives are also being looked at. The NIMH also investigates the military, political and legal context. This also applies to the role of the Dutch state in this history. An active search is also underway for next of kin. In this way it should finally become clear who exactly died.
Deceased grandfather
It is a special project for the brothers Lodie and Oscar, both military personnel in the Ministry of Defense. Their grandfather Oskar Rohde died aboard the Van Imhoff. He was born in Hanover and entered military service in 1908 with the Royal Dutch East Indies Army in the Dutch East Indies. He served there for 19 years. Despite his long service in the colonial army, he was still interned in 1940 because of his German descent. Together with about 2,400 other men of German and Austrian descent, he ended up in a prison camp in the Dutch East Indies.
According to project leader Maaike van der Kloet, quite a bit has already been found about Rohde. “For example, we requested the birth certificate from the city archives in Hanover. And we were able to consult the military record in the National Archives in The Hague. In this way Lodie and Oscar have a little more picture of the life of their grandfather, whom they have never known through this course of history. In this way, the NIMH will also investigate the family history of their ancestors with other relatives.”
More information about the research can be found at the website of the Van Imhoff.