Summary of Dutch A.D. N.I.B.T.A. Bulletin, 3 September 1945
On 2 September 1945, the formal surrender of Japan was signed on board the battleship Missouri, marking the official end of the Second World War. The ceremony was led by General Douglas MacArthur on behalf of the Allies, with representatives of China, Russia, Britain, France, the Netherlands, and Australia present. The communiqué confirmed that all hostilities had ceased and that Japanese war criminals would be prosecuted.
The bulletin reported that Allied forces were already moving throughout the Pacific to disarm Japanese garrisons. In Java, American aircraft dropped thousands of food and medical supply packages into prisoner-of-war camps, where conditions had become dire after months without rations. Orders were given to locate and relieve all POW camps immediately, with large-scale evacuations planned. Reports also noted that 3,572 internment camps had been discovered in Asia, many in Manchuria, and that Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek had announced the capture of 1.3 million Japanese soldiers.
This historic announcement gave prisoners in Java the first official confirmation that the war was over, that they would soon be freed, and that the long years of suffering were finally coming to an end.
Below the original image is a document that provides the English translation as well as a clean copy of the text in Dutch.
