Contact

For more information on the book, Tjideng Reunion, or for wholesale enquiries, please contact the author directly by email: bouvanoort@gmail.com

We welcome your comments. Please scroll down to find the Reply form below.

37 Responses to "Contact"

Marjan bruinvels says:

February 27, 2017 at 8:20 am

Hi Boudewijn,

Ik ben Marjan Bruinvels, ben net klaar met het schrijven van een lemma over Elly Campioni. Heb jij nog informatie, bv over de foto?

Hartelijk dank!
Johan van Leer says:

December 15, 2017 at 6:46 pm

Zeer geachte Boudewijn van Oort,
Uit uw site kon ik lezen dat uw familie al voor de oorlog naar zuid-Afrika vertrok en vandaaruit het voormalige Nederlands Indie” bereikte.
Mijn vraag is dan ook of wellicht de naam ALDEWERELD bij u bekent voorkomt ?
Deze familie vluchtte nog net voor mei 1940 uit Belgie”, naar zuid-Afrika en kwamen begin november 1941 te Batavia aan. Mvw. Aldewereld en haar 2 dochters Lydia en Annie zaten in het vrouwenkamp ADEK (Batavia) Dhr. Aldewereld werd krijgsgevangen, zowel hij als vrouw en kinderen overleefden de oorlog.
De beide dames Aldewereld wonen in Brussel waar ze actief zijn met het maken van documentaire films.
Hun relaas is te lezen in het september 2016 nummer van AANSPRAAK, het orgaan van de Nederlandse Pensioen en Uitkeringsraad.
Met vriendelijke groet,
Johan van Leer,
230 Bay Street,#6.
SANTA MONICA CA 90405-1031
USA
FAX/Tel: 1-(310) 396-3005
Boudewyn van Oort says:

December 29, 2017 at 9:45 pm

Geachte Heer van Leer,
Wij zaten in 1940 al in Zuid Afrika, en vertrokken op 26 mei naar Indie.
De naam Aldewereld komt mij niet bekent voor, maar deze familie zat waarschijnlijk ook een poosje in Tjideng
Aldewereld-Huinink, M.G. (n) 18784 00003
Dit is een uittreksel van de naamlijst van Aug 1945
Petra Elders says:

May 17, 2018 at 8:14 am

Dear mr van Oort.
Could you please help me make contact with Marjolyn Nicholson, who posted a question about my mother and grandmother (“Riebert” and dr. Jo Volten) on your site?
May be you could send her a message, that I would like to be contacted by her?
I shall also order your book.
With sincere regards.
Petra Elders
Petra Elders says:

May 18, 2018 at 12:40 pm

Hello Boudwyn van Oort,
Please bring me in contact with Marjolyn Nicholson, who requested information about my grandmother , my mother and my uncle.
Things come together in a strange way: I am married to the grandson of Adriaan Viruly.
You posted a picture of him on your web site.
Boudewyn van Oort says:

July 5, 2018 at 8:47 am

Hello Petra, I will see what I can do. I have a friend in Calgary who also is related to the pilot/author Adriaan Viruly.
Pat Denekamp says:

July 6, 2018 at 9:09 am

I am actually looking for a book about Tjihapit Camp in Bandung only. The book I ordred for my friend and she never received she actually bought herself years ago.
Boudewyn van Oort says:

July 22, 2018 at 2:48 pm

Hi Pat, I am not sure I responded to your comment. My book, though called Tjideng Reunion, devotes far more space to the Tjihapit camp, and to the best of my knowledge is the only one to present a reasonably complete picture by placing some key events that affected our lives in a broader historical context of developments elsewhere on Java as well as the Pacific war. My book is much more than a “memoir”.
Stu Searles says:

January 21, 2019 at 7:42 am

Thanks so much for writing “Tjideng Reunion”. The clear descriptions helped me understand a little better the life of my great Uncle, Henry Quade, who moved to Batavia in 1934 and remained behind after Pearl. Fortunately my great Aunt Henrietta left in November, 1941, but Henry became a “guest” of the Japanese in Soekimiskin Prison.

Yours,

Stu
Boudewyn van Oort says:

February 22, 2019 at 3:43 pm

Hello Stu,
I am glad to book was of some help- a forgotten bit of quite significant history , in my opinion.
Sylvia G Herman says:

September 11, 2019 at 10:00 am

Dear Mr. Vanoort
I just came across faded papers of my mother with an address of Tjihapit Kamp
Nangkalaan No13. Bandoeng.
Recognizing me as born in Soerabja
I would like to know if she was registered
At this kamp.
She has been secreative about my biological father if possible would like more info About him.
I don’t look like my brothers who are Caucasian and fair looking.
Looking forward to your response .

Met hartelijke groetje

Sylvia Gerards
Boudewyn van Oort says:

November 10, 2019 at 3:34 pm

Thank you for your comment. I will look into the matter- The Mangalaan address means little, because we moved several times. I do have a list of Tjihapit inhabitants but it only related to those who were left in the camp after Xmas 1944. The earlier records are gone.
Cheers
Boudewijn
Hugo Maas Geesteranus says:

April 8, 2020 at 1:00 am

Dear Mr Van Oort, I am the son of Leonie Adeline Brewer Van Vryenes, born 22 July, 1928, who’s father was involved with Malabar Tea Plantation. I have a painting, on board, with several names on the back, and a description, that I inherited when she passed away.
It is of a Tjihapit scene. I have several photos of that area and property, should it assist you in any way. She did have 3 or 4 journals/diaries. After her mother died, was unpacking things, and found them. I begged her to keep them, as I had aspirations of becoming a journalist, and her stories were fascinating. After a few weeks of nightmares, she unfortunately, but justifiably burnt them.
I would also enquire as to any information you may have on the family Brewer Van Vryenes,
Boudewyn van Oort says:

April 8, 2020 at 11:45 am

Hello Hugo, I had a quick look through my files but can find no record of that name. I hasten to add that I do not have all available name lists on my computer. You might search yourself in https://www.japanseburgerkampen.nl/Java-kampen.htm
I hasten to add that for most of the camps listed there is no name list. I checked Tjideng. I eventually hope to have an integrated list of what is available sorted alphabetically by name with 1945 Prison camp as an attribute.
The Bosscha family had links with the Kerkhoven family via the Tea plantations. In my book I mention the Kerkhoven family quite a bit.
By the way, Marijke is helping me with my second book.
Pieter Verhaart says:

April 15, 2020 at 8:57 pm

Hi Boudewijn,
I was not sure whether you had moved to other interests so I have not sent you my notes on Tjideng.
But now I see that you are still active answering queries from ex prisoners and their descendants. So I will send you an email with my notes attached.

Met veel groeten,

Piet Verhaart
Robert Baumgardner says:

June 29, 2020 at 8:31 am

I would like a copy in English of the account of Kenichi’s behavior. Thank you.
Boudewyn van Oort says:

July 2, 2020 at 7:39 am

hello Robert,
no problem , I have a stock of books at home
can you send me your address
alternatively if you go to the “buy the book page”, it will help you

Boudewyn
John says:

August 29, 2020 at 5:24 am

Hi Boudewyn,
Could you please describe the colors of your clothes en those of Pieter ten Cate next to you on the photograph?
For a rememberance project I try to color in some black and white photo’s.
Thanks!
John
Boudewyn van Oort says:

September 6, 2020 at 9:11 pm

Damned if I know . Piet has my birthday hat on his head.
Cate, P.W. ten 1940-04-22 M
Cate-Roos, A.H. ten 1915-02-06 F
Piet ten Cate seems to have been from 1940 k, but his mother may have lied and so he was from 1939 , Regardless he clearly was one year younger than me.
Do you know if this person is still alive?
Jan A Scholtz says:

September 18, 2020 at 2:03 am

Dear Boudewijn,
Last week I read some of the many emails you have received over the years (and still do) and the many responses you give.

I could not help but to admire your efforts and do believe you provide a great service to many people ! You clearly spend much time checking things out for them which costs a lot of time and effort. Thank you for that (on behalf of those people who forgot to express their appreciation).

I do not know if any of
my older (now all deceased ) family members – perhaps my sister Barbera – have contacted you already but I assume not.
If they did please let me know.

As for my Indonesian history, I plan not to bore with too many details apart from some factual data as follows :
My name is Jan and I am a 77 year old Dutchman – married – living (since 1988) in Sydney/Australia and spending the first few years of my life as a POW in Tjihapit .

Apart from my own name:
Jan A.Scholtz Jr. b. Borromeus Hospital, Bandung, on 19.03.1943.
some names of my family -who were in Indonesia at the time are:
*J.A.Scholtz (father) – Tjihapit,Tjimahi,Tjideng?
*B.Scholtz van Apeldoorn (mother) Tjihapit,Tjideng, moore ?
*B.G.Scholtz (Sister) -Tjihapit,Tjideng ? , more ?
*M.Goote camp(s) unknown (uncle)
*S.Goote van Apeldoorn Tjihapit ,Tjideng ?, more ?(aunt)
*M.Goote (Male) (b.17 Nov. 1935) (Cousin) Tjihapit,Tjideng(?
*N.Goote (female) (b.21.3.1941) (cousin) (Tjihapit,Tjideng, other?
*P.H.Scholtz (Poerbollingo )(uncle)
*I.Scholtz van (Oort ?) (Poerbollingo) (aunt)

( I think there are a few more van Apeldoorn names to be found ( like my grandfather who I understand was ” president of the military court” in Indonesia at the time.) If this is of interest please let me know and I will research a bit further. )

Boudewyn, I do realise that the above is a huge list so if you can not spend the time to check please let me know.

If however such an extended list is no problem then I hope you can briefly research Joyce’s (my wife,s ) parents.:
*A.J van der Henst (father in law) (ADEK) , 7 th Batallion Bandung
*M.J.van der Henst-Ierschot.(mother in law) Tjideng

Any info you have would be great.!
Thank you in advance,
Kind regards,
Jan Scholtz

Australia
Jan A Scholtz says:

September 18, 2020 at 9:06 am

Hello again Boudewyn,
Somewhere on your website I saw you mentioned a POW number.
Where can I locate my number and those of my family members mentioned in the previous comment .
Hope you can assist ! Thanks.
Jan Scholtz Australia.
Boudewyn van Oort says:

September 19, 2020 at 12:03 pm

I will see what I can do .
I will consult camp records and adresboek
See where that takes us
Boudewyn
Boudewyn van Oort says:

September 19, 2020 at 12:21 pm

The website Japanseburgerkampen has the surviving lists. They are incomplete
I have written some articles about these in Dutch- published in de Krant with questions like yours in mind

If you like, I can email them
Boudewyn
Boudewyn van Oort says:

September 19, 2020 at 1:33 pm

I found this in the Bandoeng adres boek
Apeldoorn, Mr. M. v., Voorz. Krijgsraad Tjikapajangweg 015
Relative?
Boudewyn
Richard C. van Holtz says:

February 5, 2021 at 5:13 pm

Beste Boudewijn,
Mijn zus vertelde mij onlangs dat onze, inmiddels overleden, halfzuster ook in een kamp was terechtgekomen, vermoedelijk bij Bandoeng. Heeft u mogelijkheden om na te of zij op de lijsten voorkomt? Haar naam is Elisabeth Dorothea van Holtz, geboren in 1925. Zij heeft het kamp overleefd. Haar vader was ondergedoken en haar broer te werk gesteld bij de Birma spoorweg, tijdelijk zelfs in hetzelfde kamp als Wim Kan. Ook hij heeft dat overleefd.
Bij voorbaat dank,
Richard van Holtz
Boudewyn van Oort says:

February 15, 2021 at 8:06 pm

Geachte Richard
In het Bandoeng adres boek trof ik deze twee namen- mischien verwandten?
Holtz, F. H. B., Hoofdcomm. Dep. V. en W.
Oosteindebinnen 027 A pav
Holtz, geb. Rohaja, Wed. — Collecteur Gang
179 16A
Helaas, niets in de Tjihapit naam lijst van januari 1945
Hols, E.E. 1922-01-12 1922 F 5
16075
Hols-Geurst, E.B. 1-12-1893 1893 F
10 16074
Holst Pellekaan-Donker Gurtius, M. v 1903-01-26
1903 F 9 11667
En verder ook:
Tjideng Holst-Oxener, W.C.
Tjideng Holst-Pellekan Donker Curtius, M.J. v.
Deze laatste namen komen voor in een data base waarin ik al de namen van verschillende kampen verzameld had
Hierbij een idee voor de kampen op Java:
ADEK 2221 namen
Ambarawa 6 3938 namen
Ambarawa 7 325 Namen
Banjoebiroe ( twee lijste gecombineerd: 1632 namen (misschien was overlap)\
Kramat: 1217 namen
Struiswijk 73 namen
Tjideng 4911 namen
Een zielige vertoning
Boudewijn
Mr. Almao says:

April 16, 2021 at 5:14 pm

Our Grandfather, George Percy Guise THOMSON, a British planter from Sumatra was interned at Si Ringo Ringo. He survived the war and died in Oxford.
Boudewyn van Oort says:

April 21, 2021 at 9:01 am

Hi, Did you know that Si Rengo-Rengo has a unique place in the history of the pacific war, in so far that a photo record survived , showing life in the camp. One of the inmates had succeeded in hanging on to his camera, kept it hidden underground, retrieved it after the war and developed the pictures.
Boudewyn
Shirley Eleonora Kubat says:

May 19, 2021 at 11:55 am

Kind sir I am the daughter of a prisoner born April 2 1942 in Tjihampit. My grandparents were Dutch colonials George Gehart Braans and Margaretha my Ona. Mom has many photos and documents. I so would be grateful if my mom could speak with you. Perhaps you would have known my Oma and was there when my mom was born. Or when my Oma was punished for singing.she was buried to her neck and left that way for days as an example. My mom would try to crawl to her and the other pies would grab my mom and keep her back. Mom refered to one soldier Sunny boy. That she said they called him as he would have the women stand at attention for hours in the hot sun. I myself am so wishing to speak with someone who may have rembered my family.
Thank you sir,
Shirley E Kubat- Richter
squirpy10@gmail.com
John Krens says:

September 22, 2021 at 2:29 am

Hi Boudewijn (sorry I got earlier the name wrong),
I just read your article “Een kampkind begraaft zijn vader” in de Dutch Courier. I’m editor of the Tempo Doeloe (Nerderlands Indische Social Club in Victoria) newsletter and would like at a future time to print your article in our newsletter. I would like your permission to do this and if you have other stories from that period and later, I’m interested in them as well for the same purpose.
Regards,.
John Krens
Boudewyn van Oort says:

September 26, 2021 at 11:49 am

Hi John, Go right ahead. People ought to know more about this business. By my reckoning fifty thousand children emerged out of Indonesia between 1945 and 1956 ,who were traumatized by the bizarre happenings of the second world war. Of those fifty thousand approximately half came out of the prison camps in August 1945 Those fifty thousand , and I am assuming that another fifty thousand were part of the indo population that drifted in and out of the camps and hiding. They were all traumatized, but some managed to recover ,and some struggled (me), and for some, post war life was a disaster. Who cares? What can be learned?
Boudewyn
Peter Tomasetti says:

November 20, 2021 at 7:05 pm

My mother was a prisoner under sonei. Her life post war was mixed. I am keen to learn more of what happened to her between 1942 and 1945 and she never talked about it to us.
P. Verhaart says:

January 7, 2022 at 10:01 pm

For Peter Tomasetti it might be useful to have a look at the report of Lies Muthert’s evidence, which I sent to you if I an not mistaken. It vividly relates the reign of terror established by Sone Kenichi. His predecessor, Kondo was generally regarded as a good man, affirmed by Ely Campioni.
P. Verhaart says:

January 7, 2022 at 10:09 pm

Once I start!
Do any of you know about the “Gistfabriek” in the 4e & 9e Batallion in Cimahi? Who were the people running it; what ingredients did they use, was the vitamin potion a byproduct or deliberately made?
Boudewyn van Oort says:

February 2, 2022 at 3:27 pm

Yes , the yeast factory was a life saver. I am not sure if the product really was yeast, but it served the purpose of making semi palatable bread. In my book I describe toe production and distribution arrangement in some detail. A drum of liquid years arrived each day in Tjihapit camp. Thank you dad, your modified pee was most appreciated. I attribute the process to Baron van Boetzelaar, a Shell chemist, also known as Manneke Pis from de Bataafse pies maatschappij.
A nephew who studied Chemical Engineering ( Waterloo University) claimed to know what the mysterious process was. It could not have been complicated.
Nikki Burgman says:

May 26, 2022 at 5:10 pm

Hello Boudewyn,

My grandfather was placed in several camps around Indonesia during the Japanese occupation and has written a book about his time which includes pictures, maps and drawings. For a course at my university, I am writing a report which recommends the area of the Tjideng camp as a candidate for heritage listing. I was wondering if you know of any surviving buildings from that area (or any original buildings from any camp)? I will also be including a large section on social value for survivors and their descendants. Is there any evidence I could point to which shows group remembrance of this area other than your book?

That you for your knowledge,
Nikki Burgman
Boudewyn van Oort says:

June 2, 2022 at 12:01 pm

Hi Nikki,
That is a tall order. A couple of years ago I made a point of visiting the camp area with my wife and daughter. I found very little left from the past. The Tjideng ( or Cideng) river as well as the concrete bridge seemed unchanged. I think we located the house I stayed in , the third house in from the river ( I can not be sure,) and the school building that served as hospital during the war. This was party hidden from view by a corrugated irons fence , and appeared to be due for demolition. We ventured as far as the cross road ,with the “Musi weg”, but went no further. Everything else was changed beyond recognition. Given the poor stat of sidewalk, the densely packed sellers stands on this strip of land between the roadway and the houses, the oppressive heat, the mindless throng of traffic, we had no incentive to make a stroll. This stood in stark contrast with the condition of the other camp I had lived in, Tjihapit, (or Cihapit) in Bandung. I was not entirely surprised because I had tried to get an impression from Googel maps Street View. Under separate cover I will send you the picture of the one prewar house which remained, which was in good shape and the one I think I inhabited . It now housed a “boutique” and a second hand car lot.
Boudewyn

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