A review by papidoc
Lost Childhood: My Life in a Japanese Prison Camp During World War II by Annelex Hofstra Layson

4.0

I appreciated this first hand account of one young girl's experiences in a Japanese civilian internment camp for the Dutch inhabitants of the East Indies (now Indonesia). As she says, “…they set up about 300 internment camps – prison camps for enemies who hadn’t committed any crimes but who still might be dangerous…” Sounds similar to what was done with the Japanese Americans in the U.S. at around the same time. Tragically, only days after her father and mother were reunited following the war, her father was killed as a result of the fight for independence by the Indonesians.

The author writes in an unmistakably authentic voice, sharing with us her unembellished memories of her experiences, and powerful for that reason. It's a short book, only 105 pages, and worth the couple of hours it might take to read.

Thanks for the loan, Kirsten!