Government Reformatory in Bandoeng

Other name: Kebonwaroe
Internees: prisoners of war
Number of internees: 925
Information: The halls of the Government Reformatory served in March, April and May 1942 as shelter for prisoners of war from in and around Bandoeng. The halls were laid out around a central courtyard, and the grounds were walled and encircled with barbed wire. At the end of May the prisoners of war were taken to the Train Encampment in Tjimahi.
Main guards: Mori; Kasayama
Guards: Japanese military personnel, native police personnel, Koreans, heihos
Camp leaders: C. van Es
Literature: Claassen, R. en J. van Grootheest, Getekend. Nederlanders in Japanse kampen (Den Haag 1995)

Other name: Kebonwaroe
Internees: men and boys
Number of internees: 1.704
Information: After the departure of the prisoners of war who had been held there, the halls of the Government Reformatory were used to hold interned civilian men. The halls were laid out around a central courtyard, and the grounds were walled and encircled with barbed wire. Later a separate section for boys was set up. In January and April 1944 there were two large transports of people to the 1st Depot Battalion, part of the camp which came to be known as the 15th Battalion. At the end of April the camp was cleared.
Commendant: Soekono
Main guards: Mori; Kasayama
Guards: Japanese military personnel, native police personnel, Koreans, heihos
Camp leaders: C. van Es
Literature: Lavalije, Th. e.a., In naam van de keizer. Jongens in de kampen te Bandoeng 1942-1945/2602-2605 (Waddinxveen 1995)
Liesker, H.A.M. e.a., Je denk, ken niet, maar kèn!! (Waddinxveen 1997)
Liesker, H.A.M. e.a., 2603-1945, jongens in de mannenkampen te Tjimahi, Baros 5 en 4e/9e Bat. (Waddinxveen 1993)

Other name: Kebonwaroe
Internees: prisoners of war
Number of internees: 3.717
Information: In April 1945 the Government Reformatory was again used as a prisoner of war camp, as it had been following the surrender in March 1942. So-called “prominent people” were also held there, including higher-placed civil servants. The prisoners of war came from the 1st Depot Battalion (the 15th Battalion) in Bandoeng and the 10th Battalion in Batavia. They were housed in the halls of the Government Reformatory, laid out around a central courtyard. The building was walled and encircled with barbed wire.
Commendant: lt. Nagata Tsuguo; lt. Takahashi Ryoichi
Main guards: Mori; Kasayama
Guards: Japanese military personnel, native police personnel, Koreans, heihos
Camp leaders: kol. M. Vooren
Literature: Berge, G. ten, Met open ogen. Gesprek met Hein ten Berge over zijn jaren in Nederlands-Indië als leraar in Moentilan en in Japanse krijgsgevangenschap (1929-1946) (Maarssen [1995])
Claassen, R. en J. van Grootheest, Getekend. Nederlanders in Japanse kampen (Den Haag 1995)
Buitenweg, H., Omong kosong lagi. Vreugden uit het oude Indië (Amsterdam [1956])
Rooij, W.F. van, en C. Hokke, De mannen van de witte boot (Rijswijk [1970])

Other name: Kebonwaroe
Internees: women and children
Information: At the time of the Japanese capitulation the Government Reformatory sheltered approximately 2,700 ex-prisoners of war. They moved on 26 August 1945 to the almost empty district camp of Tjihapit. The Government Reformatory was thereafter set up as an emergency hospital. From November sick women and children from the camps in central Java arrived in Bandoeng.