Uncovering Pootung- Part 2: Voices of Survival—Albert Edward Alsop’s Account

transcribed by Jenny Chan 

John Van Almer’s affidavit lays bare the physical and emotional toll of Pootung, but his is not the only voice that echoes from this forgotten camp. Another internee, Albert Edward Alsop, a naturalized American and ship’s steward aboard the SS President Harrison, provides a complementary perspective through his own affidavit. His testimony, recorded by the Judge Advocate General’s Department in 1946, delves deeper into the camp’s deplorable conditions, from the insect-ridden rice to the freezing winters without heat. Alsop’s account also sheds light on the experiences of the President Harrison crew, a significant group within Pootung, and the brutal oversight of the camp’s commandant. As Pootung’s hidden history continues to be uncovered, Alsop’s detailed narrative enriches an understanding of the internees’ resilience and the systemic neglect they endured.

Judge Advocate General's Department - War Department 

In the matter of the Internment of American Citizens Under Improper Conditions at the Pootung Civil Assembly Center, Pootung, China, from 15 February 1943 to 22 September 1945. 

Perpetuation of the Testimony of Albert Edward Alsop, a Civilian.

Taken at: The Merchant Marine Rest Center, Gladstone, New Jersey. 

Date: 18 January, 1946.

In the presence of: George Winne, Agent, 1251st S.C.U. F.P.I. Sec., Intel. Br., Sec. and Intel. Div., Hq. 2nd S.C., 1270 Sixth Avenue, New York 20, N.Y.

Reporter: George Winne, Agent. 

Questions by: George Winne, Agent. 

Q. Please state your name, residence address. 
A. My name is Albert Edward Alseop, and my residence address is 316 West 85th Street, New York City, New York, ℅ M. McShane. 
Q. When and where were you born and what is your citizenship status? 
A. I was born on January 2, 1900 at Liverpool, England. I was naturalized in the United States District Court, Southern District, New York City, N.Y. on 4 May 1936 and my petition number is 266150. (Said certificate examined by agent).
Q. Are you married or single? 
A. I am single. 
Q. What formal education have you had? 
A. I attended schools in Liverpool, England which were the equivalent of a high school education. 
Q. What is your occupation? 
A. I am and have been a ship’s steward and was employed by the American President Lines, Commerce Street, San Francisco, California. 
Q. Please state the date of the commencement of your internship and the various places where you were held. 
A. I was abroad the SS “President Harrison” in my capacity as ship’s steward on 8 December 1941 in the Yanktse River, when the Japanese took the ship’s personnel into custody. They took us to LighthouseIsland, where we were kept for about 24 hours and then they took us back to the ship, where we were kept aboard for about three months and forced to labor to effectuate repairs to the ship from damage caused when the ship ran aground near Scwienshan Island, at the mouth of the Yanktse River. In March 1942 we were taken to the Foreign YMCA building on Bubbling Well Road, Shanghai, China, and remained there until about 15 February 1943. We had been forced to sign an affidavit of non-belligerency, stating that we would not assist the Allies and we were given parole during this period of time. 
Q. While you were housed at the Foreign YMCA Building did you have access to Shanghai? 
A. Yes, we had to continuously wear armbands which identified us as being subjects of the enemy of Japan, but we could go about the city. 
Q. What happened to you on or about 15 February 1943?
A. On this date we were taken to Pootung, which is a city across the river from Shanghai and we were interned there in the abandoned warehouse of the American British Tobacco Company. 
Q. How many civilians were taken to the tobacco company’s warehouse? 
A. About 1,130, all males. Later, in the beginning of 1945, the males were segregated and women and children were brought in. This warehouse was known by the title of “The Pootung Civilian Assembly Center”. 
Q. When were you liberated? 
A. On 22 September 1945 by a United States Army outfit, the name of which is unknown to me, but whose headquarters were located in the Park Hotel and in the Foreign YMCA Building, both of which were on Bubbling Well Road, Shanghai. 
Q. Please describe the building in which you were housed, and which was known as the “Pootung Civilian Assembly Center”.
A. It was a large brick building about 110’ wide by about 350’ long, consisting of three floors, and the roof was of corrugated sheet metal. The interior was constructed of wood and the building was very old and in very bad condition. 
Q. In what part of the building did you live? 
A. On the third floor, which was immediately under the sheet metal roof. The third floor was partitioned off and I was in the part known as “Room 12” which was the width of the building and about 85 ft. x 110 ft. 
Q. How many men occupied “Room 12”?
A. About 130 of us. 
Q. Did the Japanese furnish you with any bedding or furniture? 
A. No. They at no time gave us anything except our meagre food rations. Before we were taken to Pootung from the Foreign YMCA Building in Shanghai, we were told we were going to be segregated in Pootung and we were advised to buy bedding and such clothes as we could get. 
Q. Did you secure a bed?
A. I got a cot and was about to buy two thin cotton blankets. 
Q. Was there any heat in the building?
A. The building was equipped with heating devices because the top floor of the warehouse had formerly been used by the Chinese who were employed there. However, the coal supply was exhausted late in the winter of 1943, and the Japanese commandant, whose name was Suchyuae, had the stoves taken out by Chinese laborers and thereafter we never had any heat. The winters at Pootung are very severe and the climate in the winter is similar to that of New York City. 
Q. Please describe the type of food which was given to you by the Japanese. 
A. We had rice every day. It was of the poorest quality and I was advised and believe it was the kind used as animal fodder before the war. It was often contaminated with grubs and this was so bad that we selected details of men to physically separate the grains of rice from the grubs and insects by hand before it was cooked. The Japanese also supplied us with a green which they called “kale”, but which in effect seemed to be nothing but grass. We sometimes got a vegetable similar to squash and once in a long while we got potatoes. About four or give times a month we received our only meat, which was always pork and which was rancid. 
Q. Did you have any coffee, tea or milk?
A. We never had coffee or milk and tea was the only liquid besides water which we received. 
Q. How much did you weigh when you were taken to Pootung and how much did you weigh when you were liberated?
A. I weighed about 147 pounds when I was interned in Pootung and when we were liberated, I weighed 116 pounds. 
Q. How many of the crew members of the SS “President Harrison” were interned in Pootung with you?
A. Ninety-six.
Q. How many of them died during the internment?
A. Nine. 
Q. Who was responsible for the conditions which existed at Pootung?
A. The commandant, who was a Japanese by the name of Suchyuae.
Q. Please describe him as carefully as you can. 
A. He was about 43 years of age, about 5’4” in height, weighed about 120 pounds. He continually wore glasses and was very refined in his manners and dress. He always wore American type business suits of the best quality and spoke perfect English. It was rumored that he had been educated in the University of Wisconsin, in the United States, and had been in the Japanese Consul’s office in New York City from about 1928 to 1932. 
Q. Is there anyone else who you can say was responsible for inhuman treatment at Pootung?
A. When we first went there, there was a Japanese sergeant whose name was Endo who was most brutal. He left the camp in about November 1944. He was a large, heavy set man, large in comparison with the average Japanese, and had the appearance of having been an ex-prize fighter. He had a broken nose, was about 36 years old, about 5’6” tall, weighed about 160 pounds, and had black hair. 
Q. Can you state the names of any other persons who are familiar with the foregoing circumstances?
A. Joseph Szwerenz, who was Merchant Marine steward on the SS “President Harrison” and who lives in New York City, Leonard Page, colored, who was a cook on the SS “President Harrison”. I don’t know where he lived. 
There was also Charles Brown, who was the American Representative of the Internees. He had been a lawyer in Shanghai before the war. 
Q. Is there anything else you wish to state regarding the foregoing circumstances?
A. No, that is all. 

Sources: 
​“War Crimes Files Pootung,” Pacific Asia War Archive, accessed June 10, 2025, https://pacificatrocitiesedu.reclaim.hosting/items/show/939.