The Defining Years of the Dutch East Indies, 1942-1949: Survivors' Accounts of Japanese Invasion and Enslavement of Europeans and the Revolution That Created Free Indonesia

by Jan A. Krancher (editor)

Following their invasion of Java on March 1, 1942, the Japanese began a process of Japanization of the archipelago, banning every remnant of Dutch rule. Over the next three years, more than 100,000 Dutch citizens were shipped to Japanese internment camps and more than four million romushas , forced Indonesian laborers, were enlisted in the Japanese war effort. The Japanese occupation stimulated the development of Indonesian independence movements. Headed by Sukarno, a longtime admirer of Japan, nationalist forces declared their independence on August 17, 1945. For Dutch citizens, Dutch-Indonesians or "Indos," and pro-Dutch Indonesians, Sukarno's declaration marked the beginning of a new wave of terror. These powerful and often poignant stories from survivors of the Japanese occupation and subsequent turmoil surrounding Indonesian independence provide one with a vivid portrait of the hardships faced during the period.

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1996

Reviews

[Steve]

The editor compiled biographical stories from twenty-four Dutch and Dutch-Indonesians, or Indos, that experienced life under the Japanese and the revolution that immediately followed the Second World War. These narratives were produced nearly fifty years following the upheavals of the 1940s; the writers were all either children or young adults through those years. The memories were centered in Java or Sumatra, although several persons were subsequently transported to other areas in the Asia-Pacific region, mostly used as conscripted labor in mines, ports, or construction projects like the infamous Burma-Thailand “death railroad.” The obvious irony is that no sooner did the imprisoned emerge from Japanese internment than they were cast again into imprisonment in the frenzy of the Indonesian revolution. The Japanese-inspired Merdeka, or freedom, movement fed the transitional, or Bersiap, period that arose within the power vacuum following the Japanese surrender. Sukarno’s insurgency continued to gain influence, and ultimately succeeded with Indonesian independence proclaimed on 29 December 1949. Untold miseries accompanied the wake of these events, most hidden from Western consciousness; you see, this was a moment “for a bit of the old ultraviolence,” to borrow a line from the scene at the Korova Milk Bar in the film A Clockwork Orange.

These are survivors’ tales; unheard are those whose oppression resulted in death, those who presumably have the most to say. Yet these accounts amount to one more catalogue of depravities, of swollen behaviors beyond civilization’s edge, and one that should give everyone heavy pause for the nature of our collective spirit. For the most part, there was little commentary on lasting trauma. A few did make mention of the residual psychological effects of their ordeals. One wrote, reflecting on the death of her father: “Whatever shields me from a painful past must be as thin as the film which forms over milk left uncovered. A little touch will tear it open and it hurts all over again.” Another wrote: “Above all, I have learned that nothing lasts forever and that freedom is a commodity not always appreciated until it is taken away.” My impression of our current cultural moment is that a majority of my fellow citizens do not care to read much history; rather, they seem perpetually aroused to the pursuit of a sadistic orgasm that never arrives; this book offers insight into this theme. Put better in spiritual conclusion, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” – please.

[Albert Straub · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting to learn about what my father went through.