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Junior Writers Reporting

Peace Seeds: Teens in Hiroshima Sow Seeds of Peace (Part 54)

Part 54: Baumkuchen and Ninoshima Island

Baumkuchen is a German-style confection that has the appearance of a tree trunk, with its annual rings, when sliced. It is said to have been first introduced in Japan at an exhibition held at the former Hiroshima Commercial Exhibition Hall, now known as the Atomic Bomb Dome, in March 1919.

Five years before, World War I had broken out, with Japan fighting against Germany in China. Germans who had been in Qingdao were brought to Japan as prisoners of war (POWs) and held in internment camps across this nation. One of the confectioners, who was taken to Ninoshima Island (now part of Minami Ward), located in Hiroshima Bay, was allowed to make baumkuchen, a cake-like confection from his hometown. It was then introduced to the people of Hiroshima.

Ninoshima Island was bound up with war since the Meiji Era (1868-1912). In World War II, many people who were wounded in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 were carried to the island and died there. Through the history of baumkuchen in Japan, the junior writers have looked at the impact of war in this article.

German confectioner exhibited baumkuchen 99 years ago

The confectioner who baked baumkuchen 99 years ago was Karl Juchheim (1886-1945). Who was he? We asked Takafumi Shigesue, 49, a staff member of the municipal Seaside Children’s Nature Center on Ninoshima Island, about him.

Mr. Juchheim, who was born in Germany in 1886 and wanted to be a confectioner, moved to Qingdao, China in his 20s and opened a confectionery shop there. He then married a woman named Elise. When World War I broke out, he was taken to Japan as a POW, without his wife.

He was relocated to Ninoshima Island from an internment camp in Osaka. On March 4, 1919, an exhibition of specialty items produced by German POWs began at the Hiroshima Commercial Exhibition Hall. At this event, he baked baumkuchen at the recommendation of his fellow POWs. This confection, which literally means “tree cake,” takes considerable effort to make and is served for celebrations because it resembles tree rings, which symbolize prosperity and longevity. He also served lemon cakes, which were very popular, too.

The Chugoku Shimbun reported at the time that “A crowd of people were amazed that such elaborate cakes were made on Ninoshima Island, an inconvenient location. The largest number of people in the hall were gathered in front of an on-site sale of cakes, and the three POWs in charge were as busy as bees.”

After Mr. Juchheim was released from the internment camp, he brought Elise to Japan and set up shop in Yokohama, but his shop was destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. He restarted the business in Kobe, but his shop was again destroyed in the Great Kobe Air Raids of June 1945. He then fell ill and passed away the day before the war ended.

Mr. Shigesue said, “Some people were at the mercy of war but lived courageous lives and were able to hand down their delicious cakes to us. I tell children about this for their peace studies. I want them to take an interest in this history.” (Hitoha Katsura, 13, and Takahiro Imaru, 17)

Life in an internment camp

Mr. Juchheim lived at an internment camp on Ninoshima Island, which was established in February 1917 at the second quarantine station operated by the former Japanese army. To a certain extent, prisoners were able to live freely there.

During World War I, which broke out in 1914, Japan, one of the Allies, waged war against Germany, one of the Central Powers, and attacked Qingdao, China, then a German-leased territory. German soldiers and civilians who had been in Qingdao became POWs, with more than 4,600 people brought to Japan. Sixteen internment camps were built across Japan, and the internment camp on Ninoshima Island, which could accommodate about 500 people, was set up after the one in Osaka was closed.

Life in internment camps is often imagined to be terrible. And while it was true that some POWs tried to escape their captivity, Japan sought to observe The Hague Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war and so generally dealt with them humanely. Allowances were even provided to POWs based on their rank.

A roll call and medical checkup was obligatory for the POWs, but they were permitted to stage a play and issue a newspaper, and they even went on an excursion to Miyajima Island. Playing soccer was a popular pastime, and the team of POWs played a friendly match against a joint team of students from Hiroshima at the Hiroshima Higher Normal School (now Hiroshima University) in January 1919. But this promising atmosphere did not last. When World War I ended, the internment camps were closed. But then Germany and Japan moved again toward war. And ultimately, the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

The former internment camp was transformed into the municipal Seaside Children’s Nature Center, where young people play sports or study peace issues concerning World War I and World War II. I visited the island and thought that, above all, it’s important to be familiar with history so that we won’t be involved in war again. (Anna Ikeda, 16)

Relationship between Ninoshima Island and wars

Ninoshima Island has a deep connection to Ujina Port (now Hiroshima Port), once a major hub of military transport.

In 1895, one year after the outbreak of the Shino-Japanese War, an army quarantine station was established to provide medical checks, and disinfection, to soldiers returning from China. During the Russo-Japanese War, which began in 1904, a second quarantine station was built, and an internment camp was set up for German POWs who were brought to the island during World War I.

In 1945, the hospitals in the city of Hiroshima were devastated by the atomic bombing, and the soldiers from the Akatsuki Corps, which operated under the army Shipping Command, carried the wounded to these quarantine stations, which were used as temporary field hospitals. The medical supplies, which reportedly had been prepared for 5,000 people, ran out in only four days. The quarantine stations took in about 10,000 people over the course of 20 days, but only around 2,000-3,000 of these were able to leave the island alive.

The bodies were cremated at the quarantine stations and other locations on the island. After the war, excavation work was pursued and, in 2004, the remains of 85 people were discovered. Even today, many people visit the island to console the spirits of the dead. (Aoi Nakagawa, 17)

Making baumkuchen, following the recipe from that time

The junior writers tried our hand at making baumkuchen, following the original recipe. If we didn’t work together as a team, talking to one another and timing our actions, it wouldn’t have turned so well. It took us about two hours to bake, and when we finished, we felt a sense of accomplishment. When I took a bite of it, I enjoyed the simple, lightly sweet flavor. I imagined Mr. Juchheim, who went through hardships during the war, and the people of that time having been happy to have baumkuchen. Below is the recipe we used. (Hitoha Katsura, 13)

Ingredients (for five servings)
250g cake flour
250g sugar
200g salt-free butter
10 eggs
3-6 kg charcoal

How to make it
1. Break the eggs and separate the yolks from the egg whites.
2. Add sugar and melted butter to the beaten yolks. Gradually add the cake flour (three times) and mix each time.
3. Beat the egg whites into a meringue. Add the mixture from step 2 and stir into a batter.
4. Make a fire with the charcoal and warm a bamboo tube.
5. Coat the bamboo tube with the batter and remove the excess batter by tapping the bamboo tube. Turn it over the flame, with each person holding either end of the bamboo tube.
6. Bake the batter until golden brown and then remove it from the flame and repeat step 5 about 30-40 times until the batter is gone. It is important to bake it over a high flame in a short time. In this way, it becomes soft and moist.
7. Cut off both ends of the baumkuchen and slide it from the bamboo tube. Your baumkuchen is ready to eat!

What is Peace Seeds?
Peace Seeds are the seeds of smiles which can be spread around the world by thinking about peace and the preciousness of life from various viewpoints. To fill this world with flowering smiles, the junior writers, 25 junior high school and senior high school students, choose themes, gather information, and write articles.

(Originally published on March 15, 2018)

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