Police Speciale Française, Shanghai, 1941

Charles Gesner van der Voort (1916-1991) was part of a group of Dutch bachelors in pre-war Shanghai. Another member of this group was David van Gelderen (1908-1990), originally from Rotterdam. He arrived in Shanghai in 1933, working for Unilever, a merger of the operations of Dutch Margarine Unie and British soap maker Lever Brothers.

The photo albums of his China years contain many photos of the bachelor life in those days: travel, work, parties, trips within China and to Japan. They also include photos of the bombing of the Unilever factory during the 1937 Japanese attack of Shanghai, membership of the French Special Police and other unique photos.

Like Charles, David was interned in Chapei Civil Assembly Centre by the Japanese from 1943 to 1945.
Being Jewish, internment in Shanghai probably saved David’s life; since all of his family members in the Netherlands were killed by the Nazis.

David married, had two children and continued to work for Unilever. He became member of Nederlandse Reünisten Vereniging China (NRVC, Dutch Reunists Association China).

This photo shows three members of the French Special Police. David van Gelderen (centre) was a volunteer member; many foreign nationals in Shanghai were volunteers in the Shanghai Volunteer Corps and related organisations. Jan Duinker's son wrote to me: "My father is standing to van Gelderen's right. I knew that he was in one volunteer group or another. I have never seen him in the French Police uniform before." "I realized that it is the Dutch mess in the background of the Police Speciale Francaise photo. The address is 75 Route Delastre in the French concession. I have a photo of the building." Route Delastre was renamed to Tai Yuan Lu in 1943. The Dutch National Archives show this address as the home of Jan Duinker, Frikkie Wiersum, Hugo Huyssen van Kattendijke and Hans Visser, who were part of the group of Dutch bachelors in Shanghai.

A newspaper from this period described the atmosphere at the time, a.o. a shooting between a Wang Jingwei (Wang Ching-wei) related group and French police.

Delpher.nl (Dutch Royal Library):
Soerabajasch Handelsblad, 19 May 1940
translation Pieter Lommerse

"Battle of Banks in Shanghai

A “blood-less” revolution

An unhealthy life, also for judges
(by an employee)

Shanghai, 24 April.
A revolution (or should it be called a coup d’état?) has taken place in the International Settlement in Shanghai, which is usually called “the Settlement”, and the funny thing is, that almost nobody noticed anything, and everything happened without bloodshed or excitement. No yelling, not demonstrations, no protests, no shooting, no shedding of blood. None of all that. And this happened in a city, where competing casinos, various political movements and even Chinese banks take up arms, shoot, kill and abduct people in broad daylight.
Shanghai is a city of surprises, where the most unexpected is possible.
For the Dutch this revolution or coup d’état was important because a Dutchman became a member, and so received control in the Settlement’s city council.
Up to now, the International Settlement was governed by a council, consisting of Englishmen, Americans, Japanese and Chinese. It could not be considered a city council from a European perspective, as this “council” cannot establish budgets or introduce new taxes. In these matters an assembly of taxpayers is leading, which is meeting at least once a year. This assembly of taxpayers was a gathering of many thousands of people, which has currently, after a proposal by the “council’s” chairman, taken away its own control and transfers it the true, although temporary city council, which consists of three Englishmen, three Americans, four Chinese, one Dutchman, one German and one Swiss. The elected Dutchman is Mr. J.S. Carrière, Java-China-Japan Line agent, who is highly esteemed with the various population groups in this highly international city, so we, the Dutch, can be very pleased with this choice. Because of his long residence in the city, Mr. Carrière is completely aware of the Settlement’s needs and the often-delicate issues that arise.

Chang or Wang?
The “bloodless” revolution, which brought change, is not fully completed. The Power’s approval is necessary, but there is no need for concern, because this change would not have been proposed, without the consular corps’ involvement.
Which Chinese will take seats in this city council? Will they be supporters of Chiang Kai-shek or friends or Wang Jingwei and so at the same time friends of the Japanese? Apparently, Wang Jingwei is prepared to accept only two seats for his supporters, but Chiang Kai-shek, so the “National Chinese government”, demands all four seats. And in this way, this “bloodless” revolution could become less bloodless, because the battle between Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Jingwei is also in Shanghai usually not fought without revolvers and daggers, as we have noticed lately with the disputes between banks who support the government in Nanjing (Wang Jingwei) and the banks who support the National government, in which there have already been deaths and injuries on both sides. In other countries, banking is a harmless profession. Not here in China. Trade schools should also teach the use of weapons, guns, revolvers and machine-guns.
The war between the banks is fought without mercy. Some weeks ago, a cashier of one of the banks was shot down by men of the other group of banks. Badly wounded he was taken to hospital, where he started to recover from his wounds. But then, armed men entered the hospital where he was treated, and they thoroughly killed him in his bed.
In the battle between the banks, not only shooting and stabbing takes place, but also kidnapping. A large part of the Bank of China’s staff, a Chiang Kai-shek bank, is living in a large common house, in the Japanese occupied part of the city, where the Wang Jingwei police force is in control. Some time ago, this building was surrounded by police early in the morning and the residents were arrested. This also happens in the battle between the banks. No less than thirty-seven banking people were taken away. Some of them were released shortly afterwards, but some are still in custody, and nobody knows where.
The Chiang Kai-shek banks are currently closed in Shanghai, but will soon again be open, when sufficient security measures have been taken. So, the “battle” will soon continue.

Judge a hazardous occupation
Not only banking is a hazardous occupation, also the profession of a (Chinese) judge is a risky. Judges in the Chinese courts in the International Settlement are appointed by the Chiang Kai-shek government. In the French Concession however, Wang Jingwei judges rule, as the French have given in to Japanese demands. Of course, the judging varies considerably because of this. An act which can lead to a capital punishment in the French Concession, can be awarded with a compliment in the International Settlement. The reverse can also apply. In courts in the French Concession, bombs have already been thrown at judges. And in the past couple of days, bomb attacks took place in the International Settlement, at the houses of three judges (Chiang Kai-shek related).
Last week I was woken up at night by a gunfight, which took place in a street near mine. Such a trifle is no reason to get out of bed over here. A few minutes later I was sound asleep again.
The next day I learned that the French police and Wang Jingwei police had been shooting at eachother. Of the Wang Jingwei men, one had been killed and some others wounded. No casualties at the French side. The explanation for this shooting in the middle of the city? It was a mistake I was told. Mistake? Well … Shanghai… anything is possible.

Notwithstanding these gunfights, murders, bomb attacks, obductions, people have celebrated Easter with much joy, for two weeks. First, there was the Easter of the western churches, and a week later there was the Easter of the Russians, Greeks, Romanians, Bulgarians and Serbs, which is celebrated with large quantities of food and drinks.
But also, musically Easter is celebrated with dignity. The city orchestra, enlarged for the occasion, gave a concert by mixed choir and soloists of Beethoven’s ninth symphony, which cannot be heard anywhere else in Asia.
Indeed (and it is forgotten too often), Shanghai is the musical capital of Asia.
(forbidden to copy)."

The gun shown in the photo is a Mauser C-96.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauser_C96
"The Mauser C96 (Construktion 96) is a semi-automatic pistol that was originally produced by German arms manufacturer Mauser from 1896 to 1937. Unlicensed copies of the gun were also manufactured in Spain and China in the first half of the 20th century.
The distinctive characteristics of the C96 are the integral box magazine in front of the trigger, the long barrel, the wooden shoulder stock which gives it the stability of a short-barreled rifle and doubles as a holster or carrying case, and a grip shaped like the handle of a broom. The grip earned the gun the nickname "broomhandle" in the English-speaking world, because of its round wooden handle, and in China the C96 was nicknamed the "box cannon" (Chinese: 盒子炮; pinyin: hézipào) because of its rectangular internal magazine and the fact that it could be holstered in its wooden box-like detachable stock.
M1920 French police contract
The French government set up an order for 2,000 pistols with 99 millimetres (3.9 in) barrels for the Gendarmerie Nationale."

Courtesy Van Gelderen family archives; Dutch Royal Library

Taken in: China / Shanghai / Shanghai Downtown (show map)

Taken on: January 1, 1941

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Kattendijke « less

Sets appears in: • Shanghai architecture • WW II more » • Huyssen van Kattendijke • Duinker • Van Gelderen • Nederlandsch Indische Handelsbank, NIHB, Nederlandsche Verkoop Organisatie, NVO • Wiersum • Shanghai Volunteer Corps • Java-China-Japan Lijn « less

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Camera: Canon EOS 550D, f/5.6, 1/60 sec, 46mm, ISO 160 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 550D
Lens:	EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.017 sec (1/60)
Focal Length:	46mm
ISO:	160
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Elements 16.0 (Windows)
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