160307-0033 - WWII Camp, Saipan

An underfed boy at WWII Susupe Internment Camp (ススッペキャンプ) in Saipan, ca. 1945 (Showa 20).

The camp was opened in 1944 (Showa 19) to house 13.000 Japanese civilians and 5.000 Chamorros, Kakanas and Koreans. It was closed on July 4, 1946 (Showa 21).

The US capture of the Northern Marianas in July 1944 resulted in the first US occupation of Japanese territory.

Japan had strongly committed to defending Saipan because it considered the island part of the last line of defenses for the Japanese homeland. In mid-1944, nearly 30,000 troops were based on the island. Only 921 of them were taken prisoner.