Johan Mogens Holm
(1914 - 1955)
Profile
When Johan Mogens Holm arrived in Shanghai in August 1938, he wanted to join the Chinese Nationalist Air Force in their fight against the Japanese fores in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese victories—if nothing else—prevented this plan and instead he became a Police officer in the Shanghai Municipal Police and a member of the merchant navy in the Far East before the end of the war.
Johan Mogens Holm was bon on 3 March 1914 in Copenhagen, to plumber Axel Holm and Magda Holm (née Engstrøm).[1] His mother was born in Helsinki, Finland, but had emigrated to Denmark in 1898. [2] Holm’s parents divorced when he was a child, and in 1923, his mother married Emil Frederik Grunth which whom she had two sons. [3] Grunth was the proprietor of an emery producing factory in Copenhagen (Københavns Smergelfabrik A/S). Holm went to a boarding school at the island of Bogø—Bogø Kostskole—around 1925, but apart from that little information is available about his early life. [4] In 1930, he was living in Hellerup, just north of Copenhagen with his family.[5]
Holm was trained as an engineer at the Technical High School of Mittweida in Germany and, having obtained a First Degree Engineer’s Certificate in 1936, he returned to Copenhagen working at Burmaister & Wain shipyard. Later, he was employed at the machine factory Titan A/S in Copenhagen.[6]
Shanghai Policeman
Holm arrived in Shanghai in August 1938. According to documents from the Shanghai Municipal Police the object was to join the Chinese Nationalist Air Force. However, after the fall of Nanking he had to abandon his plans. In stead, he was employed by Tessier-Renault in Hanoi, French Indochina (Vietnam) in November 1938, working here until July 1940, when the fall of France and the war situation in general ment that he was discharged.
He was employed by the Shanghai Municipal Police. In the investigation report, he is described as
Holm is a smart, well-built, intelligent man and appears likely to become an efficient Police officer.[7]
He had the advantage of speaking Danish, English, German and a little French. This was advantage considering the international community of the International Settlement in Shanghai.[8]
However, by this time, the International Settlement was an isolated area within a city which had been occupied by Japanese forces since 1937, and in December 1941, the Japanese troops entered and occupied the remaining parts of the city.[9]
War Sailor
The documents available show that he entered the merchant navy at this point, but the details of this are not known at this stage. He was awarded the War Medal, 1939-45 Star and the Burma Star for his service. [10] The latter indicates that he served in the Bay of Bengal between Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in the west and Sumatra in the east.
Holm emigrated to Australia after the war, where he died in 1955.[11]
Endnotes
[1] DNA: Parish register, Vor Frue Sogn.
[2] DNA: 1906 Census of Denmark.
[3] DNA: Parish register, Gentofte Sogn.
[4] DNA: 1925 Census of Denmark.
[5] DNA: 1930 Census of Denmark.
[6] NARA: RG 263, Records of the Central Intelligence Agency, 1894-2002; Shanghai Municipal Police Investigation Files, 1947-1947; D-8741/64.
[7] NARA: RG 263, Records of the Central Intelligence Agency, 1894-2002; Shanghai Municipal Police Investigation Files, 1947-1947; D-8741/64.
[8] NARA: RG 263, Records of the Central Intelligence Agency, 1894-2002; Shanghai Municipal Police Investigation Files, 1947-1947; D-8741/64.
[9] Shanghai International Settlement, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_International_Settlement. (accessed on 4 Feb 2024).
[10] NA: BT 395/1/44782.
[11] Ancestry: New South Wales, Australia, Index to Deceased Estate Files, 1859-1958.