Gerhard Buelle
By Walter Buelle
I was fascinated to read your article on German Missions in British India. I have a particular interest in the civilian camp at Dehra Dun since my father was there from the beginning until his release during the bad winter of 1947. I can also confirm that he ended up in Neuengamme for de-briefing.
My Grandfather, Louis Buelle, was interned at Ahmednagar during the 1st World War. Louis left India on health grounds and returned to Germany just a few months before my father was rounded up, thereby escaping a second internment, this time with his son!
My father was Gerhard Buelle. He was born in Darjeeling, India on 30th May 1906 and died on January 10th 1997 in Denia, Spain. He was a businessman working in Calcutta when the war broke out and was consequently rounded up. I was born in January 1940 (in Calcutta) and together with my mother left India on one of the very last Italian passenger liners bound for Genoa, Italy.
My mother and I spent the war years in Germany, mainly in Celle, Bremen and Hamburg.
I still remember meeting my father for the very first time when I was 7 years old. It was a strange experience and difficult in many ways for both of us. I also remember father telling me much later that they were transported from Italy to Hamburg in cattle trucks and when the doors opened in Hamburg many of the internees had died and were frozen solid like planks of wood. The extreme cold and the fact that most of them were dressed in tropical dress contributed to many deaths.
Father was very anti Nazi and one of his roles was to be a sort of go-between/mediator between the two ideological camps. He did not speak kindly of Heinrich Harrer.
My father and mother are no longer alive but I am still very much in touch with my German roots.
Finally, I looked at the landscape photo with interest hoping to find my father, I think I have located him but can not be 100% sure.
Father's camp number was 4057 and was stationed in Wing 1, Central Internment Camp.
I appreciated the panoramic photo of 1941 but found it difficult to positively identify my father. I found the most likely figure to be in the back row. Coming from the left there is a telegraph pole and then the gable of a hut. At the base of the gable is a figure in a white shirt, to his right is a giant of a man, presumably he is standing on something!
Two names of fellow internees come to mind;
Harneik, unfortunately I do not recall his christian name. We called him Onkel Haku and as far as I remember he later worked out of Hong Kong where he died some years ago.
Rolf Benkert is still alive, I think in Wuppertal. What you may not be aware of is that he, together with two of his old school chums wrote accounts of their lives in a joint private publication. Naturally, since Rolf spent years in Dehra Dun his account of life there is very illuminating and worth reading. I was sent a copy of the book by my father's second wife who still lives in Spain. (1)
Roger, you asked me what my father thought of H Harrer. Regrettably, with the passage of time I do not recall specific comments, the overall impression I am left with is that Dad did not get on with him, possibly for political reasons.
Attached are some photos which I hope reach you safely.
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- A portrait of Gerhard Buelle taken in camp in 1942.
- A group photo of 11 internees, my father is in the back row 3rd from right. I have no idea who the others are.
- Father excercising with improvised weights, feet being held down by an unnamed internee.
- Father doing a handstand.
- Father and another internee on a shopping trip under guard. Sent to my mother in Germany in letter 222 dated 23 May 1946. I am assuming that once war had ended matters relating to internees became very much more relaxed, it does not look as if the guard was even armed. Father is on the right of the trio.
Appendix
(1) Zwischen Zeiten. Lebenszeit; Drei Leipziger Nikolaitaner Zeitzeugen im 20. Jahrhundert; von Rolf Benkert, Thomas Buhé, Martin Wehnert, Christiane Agricola; ISBN 9783931801502
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