Betty Barr looks at old photos at a nursing home in Shanghai, east China, June 13, 2025.
Born in 1933 in Shanghai, Betty Barr is the daughter of a Scottish missionary teacher father and an American mother who came to Shanghai in 1924 and 1930 respectively. In 1937, when the Japanese army initiated the Lugouqiao Incident, she and her family were safe in Dallas, Texas, but they returned to Shanghai in 1938.
In 1943, the Japanese invaders decided to move the British and American expatriates in Shanghai to the so-called Civil Assembly Centers. Longhua Camp was one of them, and Betty Barr lived there for over 800 days.
On April 10, 1943, two days after her tenth birthday, Barr stood in the lane watching her parents, by order of the Japanese authorities, paste two long, white pieces of paper diagonally across the door of their home.
After that, Barr and her whole family set off for the Longhua Civil Assembly Center, first by pedicab and then by bus. It had formerly been the site of a famous Shanghai school, and is now the campus of Shanghai High School. In the camp, she was no longer Betty Barr, just a number - 22/228.
"Not having any idea of how long we would be 'in', we took as many cans of food as we could," she said. "There were also books and games and, most important of all to me, my dolls and even a dolls' bed."
Food shortages, cold, diseases, and "camp rules" affected every detainee.
Clothes became a problem, especially for growing children. "A good friend of mine, who was a few months older than me and taller, passed on her clothes to me. After I wore them for one year, we gave them back for her younger sister to wear," she recalled.
The final moment came on August 15, 1945, when Japan announced surrender without condition. "The Swiss took over the camp at noon after it was confirmed that the war was over. Great jubilation," Barr's mother wrote in her diary.
In 1950, Betty Barr went to the United States for study. She returned to Shanghai in 1984 and became a teacher of Shanghai International Studies University.
Now, Betty Barr and her husband live a peaceful life at a nursing home in Shanghai.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.
For Barr, the wartime experience 80 years ago is ingrained in her memory and too hard to forget. "It made me deeply understand the value of peace, freedom and cultural exchange," said Barr. "Today, it needs the joint efforts of all people to safeguard peace." (Xinhua/Liu Ying)
Betty Barr plays the piano as her husband George Wang plays the harmonica at a nursing home in Shanghai, east China, June 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)
This photo taken on June 13, 2025 shows bowls and plates that Betty Barr's family used in Longhua Camp, in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)
This copy photo shows Betty Barr in childhood. (Xinhua)
This file photo shows the interior view of Longhua Camp in Shanghai, east China. (Shanghai High School/Handout via Xinhua)
Betty Barr poses for a photo in Shanghai, east China, June 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)
Betty Barr interacts with her husband George Wang while playing the piano at a nursing home in Shanghai, east China, June 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)
This copy photo taken in November 1933 shows Betty Barr and her family members in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua)
Betty Barr (2nd L) communicates with students of Shanghai High School in Shanghai, east China, April 28, 2021. (Shanghai High School/Handout via Xinhua)
This photo taken in 2023 shows the Longmen Building at Shanghai High School, in which a building of the Longhua Camp was located during World War II, in Shanghai, east China. (Shanghai High School/Handout via Xinhua)
This copy photo shows Betty Barr studying at a high school in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua)
This copy photo shows Betty Barr posing for a photo with her husband George Wang in the 1980s. (Xinhua)
This photo taken in 2019 shows Betty Barr (2nd R) talking with students of Shanghai International Studies University in Shanghai, east China. (Shanghai International Studies University/Handout via Xinhua)
This file photo shows children at Longhua Camp in Shanghai, east China. (Shanghai High School/Handout via Xinhua)
Betty Barr reads the e-book in Shanghai, east China, June 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Chen Haoming)
Betty Barr (1st R) and her friend at Longhua Camp revisit Shanghai High School in Shanghai, east China, in September 2014. (Shanghai High School/Handout via Xinhua)
Betty Barr plays the piano at a nursing home in Shanghai, east China, June 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)
Betty Barr walks with her husband George Wang at a nursing home in Shanghai, east China, June 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Chen Haoming)
This copy photo shows Betty Barr (C, front) working at Shanghai International Studies University in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua)
Betty Barr presents her memoir co-authored by her husband George Wang at a nursing home in Shanghai, east China, June 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)
Betty Barr looks at old photos in Shanghai, east China, June 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)
This file photo shows people queuing up to fetch water at Longhua Camp in Shanghai, east China. (Shanghai High School/Handout via Xinhua)
Betty Barr has lunch at a nursing home in Shanghai, east China, June 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Chen Haoming)
This copy photo shows Betty Barr in childhood. (Xinhua)
Betty Barr poses for a photo in Shanghai, east China, June 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)
