Uncovering Pootung- Part 3: A Banker's Perspective- James E. Aurell's Testimony

by Jenny Chan

The voices of John Van Almer and Albert Edward Alsop paint a vivid picture of Pootung’s brutal conditions, from physical violence to starvation rations. Yet, the story of this forgotten camp deepens with the testimony of James E. Aurell, a 34-year-old employee of the National City Bank, whose affidavit, recorded by the Judge Advocate General’s Department in 1946, offers a meticulous account of the camp’s systemic inadequacies. Aurell, a well-educated American with years of experience in Asia, provides a unique perspective as a civilian “assemblee,” detailing the dilapidated facilities, inadequate medical care, and relentless harassment under the camp’s Japanese administration. His testimony, captured in Palm Beach, Florida, underscores the collective struggle of internees to improve their conditions—whether by leveling rubble for a recreation space or pooling scarce medical supplies. Part 3, Aurell’s account, presented below, amplifies the chorus of voices demanding recognition for Pootung’s overlooked history.

Perpetuation of Testimony: James E. Aurell’s Affidavit
Taken on January 25, 1946, at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, James E. Aurell’s affidavit, documented by the Judge Advocate General’s Department for the War Crimes Office, exposes the dire conditions at Pootung Assembly Camp. A Kansas-born banker who spent years in Japan and China before his internment, Aurell describes the condemned tobacco warehouses, inadequate sanitation, and meager food supplies that led to widespread illness and weight loss. His testimony also highlights the internees’ resilience, such as their voluntary efforts to clear a demolished village for exercise space, and the bureaucratic delays that exacerbated their suffering. Naming key figures like the unpopular commandant Tsuchiya and the brutal Sergeant Endo, Aurell’s account, presented in full below, adds critical detail to the systemic neglect and harassment faced by Pootung’s internees, reinforcing the urgency of preserving these stories.

For the War Crimes Office
Judge Advocate General’s Department- War Department
United States of America

In the matter of inadequacies of food, clothing and shelter at Pootung Assembly Camp, Shanghai, China; and general harassings of assemblees at the same camp from January 1943 to September 1945. 

Perpetuation of Testimony of Mr. James E Aurell.

Taken at: Breakers Hotel, Palm Beach, Florida.
Date: 25 January 1946. 
In the Presence of: Meyer Sugarman, Special Agent, Security Intelligence Corps, Fourth Service Command. 
Reporter: Elizabeth B. Roth, Clerk-Steno, District No. 5, Fourth Service Command, Miami, Florida. 
Questions by: Meyer Sugarman, Special Agent, Security Intelligence Corps, Fourth Service Command. 

Q. State your name and permanent home address. 
A. James Everett Aurell. I am an employee of the National City Bank presently in the United States on a vacation. I plan to return to the Orient and my address can be obtained through the Personnel Office of the National City Bank, New York City. 
Q. State your age and normal civilian background before you were in Japanese custody. 
A. I am thirty-four years of age and I was born at McPherson, Kansas. I attended grade and high school in Japan and was graduated from Carlton College, Minnesota. I arrived in Japan in October 1936 and remained there until April 1938 when I went to Darien where I worked for one and one-half years. Then, I went to Shanghai, China, where I remained from October 1939 until my liberation from the Japanese Assembly Camp, except for six months of employment in Canton. I was not taken into Japanese custody until 31 January 1943. 
Q. What was your status while in Japanese custody?
A. The Japanese stated that we were assemblees rather than civilian internees, making some sort of a legal distinction. 
Q. At what camp were you detained?
A. I was detained at Pootung in the suburbs of Shanghai, China. This camp was administrated by a civilian who was appointed by the Japanese consulate. In addition, there was a staff of consular police employed at this camp. The Japanese administrator who was at this camp for the longest period of time was named Tsuchiya. He was the most unpopular of the Japanese administrators. There were other Japanese administrators, all civilians, but I do not recall their names. 
Q. Will you describe the inadequacies in your housing?
A. We were housed in a series of buildings formerly used as a British and American Tobacco warehouse in the suburbs of Shanghai. The buildings had been condemned for use as a tobacco warehouse. The roof of our building was not in good shape and it was probably a fire hazard. While it had brick on the outside, it was substantially a frame structure. When we went into the buildings, they were filthy. Nothing had been done except shelves were constructed for our belongings. The building was n ot clean and the Japanese, while they gave us some equipment to do this work, did not give us an adequate amount of equipment. After we had been there, part of the roof was swept off one of the buildings by a typhoon and this was not repaired for two weeks. Sanitation conditions were bad. There were some cesspools there. They had to be cleaned and what facilities we did have were insufficient. After we had been there approximately seven months, women were brought into the camp and that increased our sanitation problems. The grounds did not contain any space for exercise and after we made requests for an opportunity for exercise, they have us a demolished Chinese village which had considerable rubble. It took about four hundred men, who were working voluntarily, to level the plot. 
Q. Do you have anything else to say about the facilities?
A. Kitchen facilities were inadequate and this was important since we had community feeding. They gave us an old engine room and installed a few stoves made of cement. The amount of equipment was below what was necessary. We used vats and improved the facilities ourselves from bricks which we collected. Later supplies from the Red Cross arrived. We had trouble with utensils. They supplied cooking vats which were called “kongs.” If one of them would break, it would take several weeks before our requests for another one was complied with. We had eleven hundred people to feed with rice as the main diet and vats are very important in the preparation of rice. We had to improvise when the vats were broken and use buckets and that was a difficult problem because of incomplete co-operation.
Q. What about the medical situation?
A. We had enough doctors of our own. However, we did not have sufficient equipment and medicines. We had a number of appendicitis operations probably because of impurities in the food, and the Japanese permitted us to take these emergencies to town which was approximately one and one-half hours away. We had no facilities at the camp itself for treating those conditions. Near the end of 1944, we were able to get some Red Cross supplies like quinine. In the beginning, the acute shortage of medicinals were alleviated to a small degree by supplies turned in by the men. The doctors requested that personal stocks of medicines be turned into a common pool and many of the men who did have such supplied, turned them in. What was bad about the medical supply situation was that we were afforded facilities for emergency cases but for things like colds and dysentery, we had no adequate facilities. Some of the men lost a tremendous amount of weight because of dysentery and I feel certain they will suffer some permanent effects. In general, this is what would happen. The medical supply situation is illustrative of the general occurrences. The highest ranking American would contact the Japanese head. The commandant would then contact the Japanese council who would call the Swiss Council and the chain would then operate in reverse. There were a number of “don’t give a damn delays.” It was a type of non-feasance. The Japanese had facilities like telephones but they would not permit us to contact the Swiss Council over the phone and thus achieve the desired result on the spot. 
Q. And the food situation?
A. Our main diet was rice. It was a poor grade full of chaff and sweepings. It was not a good enough quality to even be coolie rice. About once in three to five months we would get a shipment of a good grade of rice. We had a tremendous amount of appendicitis and I personally believe that the inadequate diet contributed to that. During the first year we had ribbon fish about once a day. On the average, we were served two meals a day. That is, we were given food enough for two meals. Every other day, we received some buffalo meat and we used the stock for soup. We also received Chinese vegetables, like Chinese cabbage, Chinese vegetable marrow and daikon, a vegetable like turnips. We did not receive sufficient salt and that created difficulties. We also had a deficiency in calcium in our diet so that we would grind the bones and use them in our food. We received approximately eight ounces of bread a day. It was a soy bean bread and the loaves were heavy. When we were able to toast it, it would be satisfactory. The crust of the bread was believed to be one of the sources of dysentery and the doctors recommended that the edges be cut to stop dysentery. The bread was of a poor quality. Occasionally, the Red Cross was able to get parcel and bulk supplies to us. This occurred four to five times and when it did happen, we would receive food for two days; meat, tomatoes and some cracked wheat which had been sent to the Orient before the war. On those days, we were able to have breakfast. We would use the cracked wheat in our stews. In addition, if we had or could arrange funds and a contact, we could receive a parcel about once a month. Approximately 350 to 400 of those in the camp received these parcels. Some of the men who received parcels shared them with others. Because of inflation, it cost about $100.00 a month for a $5.00 package. We were able to make collective purchases with Swiss confort allowances. We could make purchases in canteens set up by the Americans through a Japanese contact once a week. This would include toilet articles and other items like peanut butter and jams. This was satisfactory for the first year, then exchange went awry. Money meant nothing. With two thousand CRB’s which was the exchange medium, you could get a bar of soap or a roll of toilet paper. 
Q. Do you have any other complaints?
A. Yes, the Japanese appeared careless on occasions. I can recall one situation where a man died and Sgt. Endo, the Japanese council police sergeant, called his whole staff to the room and showed them how to examine a body to determine whether or not there were any suspicious circumstances. To our disgust, they threw the body around. I can recall another instance where an American citizen of Russian extraction committed suicide. The Japanese left the body around for a few days. After two days, the wife was casually told of the death and she was brought to the camp with attendant hysterics. In addition, we were harassed frequently. If our foot was off center even a half inch at roll call, we would be pulled out of line and slapped with the open palm. We would also be taken to the office and made to sit on our knees for this offense. Some sort of harassing occured about once a week. If the light was left on in the barracks, the group would be punished for individual offenses. The punishment would be excluding the men in the room from the garden or something like that. Section captains were made individually responsible for an offense of anyone in the unit. 
Q. What American personnel would have more detailed information about the conditions at the Camp?
A. Mr. William Ryan who was with the Chase National Bank represented the Americans int he camp. Frank Harris, a vice president of R.C.A. Communications, New York, was a liaison man and handled various situations. In addition, Milton Bates who is now in Boston, a National City Bank employee, did work with them; and also, George Laycock who is now some place in the Orient. 

Sources: 
​“War Crimes Files Pootung,” Pacific Asia War Archive, accessed June 11, 2025, https://pacificatrocitiesedu.reclaim.hosting/items/show/939.