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Perils and Pearls: In World War II, a Family's Story of Survival and Freedom from Japanese Jungle Prison Camps Paperback – September 16, 2019

by Hulda Bachman-Neeb (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 252 ratings
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In World War II much of Asia fell under Japanese control after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

All non-Asians were imprisoned in concentration camps until August of 1945, the end of the war in the Pacific.

This is the story of a Dutch family, resident in the Dutch East Indies, that fell victim to the Japanese occupation and was interned in jungle camps throughout the war. It tells the journey from riches to rags, from fear and suffering, to the joy of freedom and recovery.

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    190 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    September 16, 2019
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 0.48 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    057856744X
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0578567440
  7. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now

Editorial Reviews

Review

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Photographs and Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Chapter 1: The Dutch East Indies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Chapter 2: Beginnings in Holland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Chapter 3: War Hits Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Chapter 4: The Princess Mary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Chapter 5: Captivity--From Riches to Rags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Chapter 6: Family Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Chapter 7: Deliverance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Chapter 8: Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Chapter 9: Return to Batavia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Afterword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Abbreviated Family Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Selected Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ BristleCone Press (September 16, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 190 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 057856744X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0578567440
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.48 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 252 ratings

About the author

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Hulda Bachman-Neeb

Hulda Bachman-Neeb

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Hulda Bachman–Neeb was born in Indonesia of colonial Dutch parentage two years before the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. Because much of Asia fell under Japanese control, all non-Asians were imprisoned in concentration camps until August of 1945, the end of the war in the Pacific.

As a member of the Dutch Foreign Service in her adult life, Hulda held assignments in twenty-five countries over a period of thirty-six years, retiring in 1996.

She is married to an American, James Bachman, a historian and author, and has dual citizenship.

Hulda and her husband live in Estes Park, Colorado.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
252 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Maggie
5.0 out of 5 stars Heart breaking and triumphant!
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2019
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Bruce F. Pauley, Professor of History Emeritus, University of Central Florida shared this review of of Hulda Bachman-Neeb's, "Perils and Pearls".

Books on American internment camps for Americans of Japanese descent, Japanese POW camps as well as POW camps in Nazi Germany are legion. Books on Dutch citizens imprisoned by the Japanese during the Second World War, however, are relatively rare. Hulda-Bachman-Neeb, a retired Dutch foreign service officer and American citizen, has helped fill this relatively neglected subject with a gripping personal account. Her own recollections (she was three years old when she was imprisoned in 1942), also rely heavily on diaries, letters, and interviews as well as the memories of her mother, who is the real hero of this account. The book is also richly embellished by photographs of her family and even of the camp itself. The author is to be congratulated for her calm and objective language. Her purpose is not revenge, but to describe what she and her mother and younger brother actually experienced, and she does so in gripping detail. Not forgotten is the amazing story of how her father miraculously avoided capture by fleeing to Australia in a rickety pearl-fishing boat. The book does not close with the end of the camp itself in August 1945. How she adjusted to freedom is a fascinating story in its own right. She had to learn what cows were, how to use a knife and fork, and what it was like to feel safe and warm in a real bed. Perils and Pearls will appeal to the general public as well as to biographers and scholars of the Second World War. I can recommend it without reservation.

Bruce F. Pauley, Professor of History Emeritus, University of Central Florida

As for myself, I absolutely love this book. Perils and Pearls is beautifully written, sometimes painful, sometimes heartbreakingly so. But in the end, Hulda's account of her Mother's love, determination and sheer will to keep her children alive through the most horrific of circumstances, speaks to the indomitable strength of the human spirit.

Maggie Jackson-Treadway
6 people found this helpful
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NM Reader
4.0 out of 5 stars The other side of the story
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2020
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There are many books about the Holocaust and Japanese P.O.W.'s, and rightfully so. This is the first one I've seen that talks in detail about what civilian prisoners endured. The author laid the history of not only her family's trials but also a partial history of Indonesia. It was an enlightening book about the strength of family.
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Wendy Lopez
5.0 out of 5 stars Sobering perspective on WWI and WWII
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2019
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A very personal and unique perspective of the politics, the wars, the suffering. I learned as much about world history as I did about the author's personal losses and tragic experiences. In my generation and in those younger than mine, there is not much knowledge about the existence of the Japanese concentration camps. The book is a testimony to the bravery and strength of spirit of those victims, their tenacity and will to survive. I was also impressed by the bravery and sense of duty of her father, and his struggles to survive. It is both inspirational to those struggling -- an encouragement to persevere through unspeakable hardships, and a warning to our generation as world politics and cultures seems to be currently headed for another major conflict. The book is a call to consider our current world political and spiritual climate, to consider what we should be doing now to avoid being surprised and overtaken by similar circumstances. I would recommend the book; it is easy to read and gives fascinating and detailed historical accounts.
One person found this helpful
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MountainDi
5.0 out of 5 stars A story we all need to hear.
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2020
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This book is timely in its appearance. It is an amazing view into significant times in the history of our world as well as the heart wrenching personal story of a family caught up in the hands of not one but two governments determined to break and/or destroy them. It is also a stark reminder of what happens when governments play with the lives of individuals as if we have no value. Something that continues in many countries around the world, today. And is now being attempted in our own country through the rise, once again, of communist and socialist ideologies. This book should be read by the younger generations and perhaps some of our own to remind them of what can be lost and the difficulty of surviving such losses. Many thanks to the Author for the courage it took to relive her story and share it with us all.
2 people found this helpful
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Chuck Bonza
5.0 out of 5 stars A true story of courage and more courage!
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2019
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“Perils and Pearls” is a book you won’t want to put down once you start reading. Hulda writes a riveting tale of her personal experience of growing up in the midst of Japanese occupation of Indonesia and life as it unfolded during the war and after. Without rancor, but always with clarity, she relates the terror she and her family were subjected to as the occupation approached, took hold, and then separated the family. The pictures equally bring home the realities of what must sometimes be terrifying memories of her childhood. They are as impactful as the written word in this book. The strength this family exhibited while apart and then after the war is astounding and humbling to those of us lucky to grow up without a similar experience. Read this book and be thankful and inspired!
2 people found this helpful
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C Lon
4.0 out of 5 stars Eye opening!
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2020
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I knew USA rounded up Germans and Japanese in camps in this country. I really had never thought about what happened to those that Japan would have put in camps. It was a heart felt story about a horrible experience. A story we should all hear and remember.
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J. Clark
5.0 out of 5 stars A most notable addition to WWII history.
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2019
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"Perils and Pearls" is a very well told, intensely moving personal story of a time during WWII when civilians in the Dutch East Indies were imprisoned by the Japanese conquerors. To say that their fight for survival for years under horrendous conditions of hunger, disease, exposure, privation and mistreatment was hard would be a gross understatement. Those who did, including the author, her mother and brother, represent a triumph of spirit and determination deserving of admiration. This excellent account of their struggle to stay alive and their eventual recovery also contains a depiction of pre-war colonial life and numerous photographs from the time that enhance the narrative.
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Top reviews from other countries

konstantinos mantas
4.0 out of 5 stars well written but biased
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 29, 2021
Verified Purchase
the author being a descendant of old colonial stock herself and, also, a historian gives a lot of valuable information on the concentration camps run by the Japanese army in World war II. She givew a cronicle of her family but at the same time se remains framed by her perjudices
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Patricia AC
5.0 out of 5 stars Difficult to put down
Reviewed in Spain on February 24, 2020
Verified Purchase
Was fascinated by this account of a Dutch family in a prison camp in World War II, well three members of the family as the father was in the military. Life was very hard for the mother and two children and when the family finally got back together and returned to Holland, it was difficult to adjust to being free and the children had to learn how to live like normal human beings.
A good read.
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Ben
3.0 out of 5 stars A family record.
Reviewed in Germany on February 25, 2020
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Started out with a lot of family background that didn’t add much to the story and was a bit tedious. Then was the war part oh the book that reads like a maritime followed by a conclusion that is interesting. It is a much better story than the book is.
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