THE POLITICS OF REDRESS; THE POLITICS OF REDRESS; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; CHAPTER I Introduction; Redress; War damage compensation and restitution; Sources; How to read this book; Spelling; CHAPTER II Era of change; The Dutch East Indies in the 1930s; The Philippines: sugar and planters' politics; Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere; Philippine independence and the nation's 'special relationship' with the USA; Revolution and independence in Indonesia; The American occupation of Japan; CHAPTER III War damage; Pre-emptive demolition; Rampok; Brisbane plans
New war, more damageThe Hens Committee; The Hart Committee; Reparations?; The War Damage Council and Bureau; The 1946 Philippine War Rehabilitation Act; USA: beacon to follow; Summary; CHAPTER IV Scorched earth, soft peace; Damage registration; Zorab's rearguard action; No compensation?; Legal hair-splitting; Claims; Indonesian viewpoints; Article 14b of the Peace Treaty; The Back Pay Committee; Summary; CHAPTER V The spoils of war; Enemy property; Japanese 'administration'; Economic mobilization; Tekisan Kanribu; Defeat the enemy with diamonds!; The Army and private enterprise
Summary
This book focuses on the aftermath of World War II in Asia as described in a sobering and insightful history of two types of redress: compensation for material war damage and restitution of looted property. Japanese Army units and citizens stole goods while shelling and bombardment by all sides destroyed factories, offices and residential neighbourhoods. How were these cases of material damage and loss to be rectified, and who was to rectify them? What financial means and legal precedents were there to fall back on at a time of decolonization, independence struggle, and shifting alliances on t
