LINKS PAGE

The Colony during WW2
Pakan Baroe Death railway
Massacres and Atrocities of WWII in the Pacific Region
Japanse burgerkampen
GASTDOCENTEN WOII Organisation
Dutch ex service
BRITISH POWs IN JAVA
Anthea's Page
Baros 6
Life and Death on the Death Railway Through the Jungle of Sumatra by American prisoner of war George Duffy
Journal Australian nurse experience

Dutch history in Indonesia
The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942
VAN DE KOLONIE NIETS DAN GOEDS Nederlands(film)
Indonesia, the country my mother was born
dutch maps
Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) - Royal Tropical Institute
KITLV/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies
Van Indië tot Indonesië
Index www.londoh.com ( V.O.C. resources)

Archival Resources
Indisch Filmarchief - Netherlands Indies Movie Archives
/indies photo album
Het Geheugen van Nederland
Semarang Photo Archives, Semarang Foto Archief, Arsip Indonesia Film Sound
World War II Balikpapan Attack Stock Footage ; Public Domain Stock Footage Library.
nederlands-indie.startpagina.nl
NIFF - official homepage

Important discoveries

Nederlands Indische Film Festival happened October last year
NIFF - official homepage
Check it out.... much has been done in this subject area. Much material regarding the colony. I would advise that we seek some preview copies so we can see what has been done. Am emailing them today

Along with that.. I found this link to a private list of internees at Tjideng
Anthea's Page
browse it thoroughly and check out the links... its a private list of some people mostly english speaking but some dutch are listed. There are evidently a lot of drawings of the camp interior at a museum in the Hague
Museon

Last but not least there is a statistical page which appears to be quite accurate
it has a lot of references to other accounts which should be pursued at some point
use babel fish to translate this
Japanse burgerkampen

Root Races and Racism in 1800's

Get a handle on Theosophy's principle mythos, the evolutionary travels of Humanity
in the this wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_Race
It has been perhaps the most misused and easily confused tenet of TS.
The Secret Doctrine is very open to interpretation. Reading it for just one hour was enough obscurantic nonsense for a lifetime. I think Blavatsky was definately racist, in albeit a soft and fashion, she was a product of the times after all.. I am certainly seeking sources on the accusation of anti-semitism on her part. Check the chapter on Theosophy here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan_race
I don't blame her for bad usage of her concepts, particularly Hitlers. Theosophy is paternal in its racism not genocidal. But I think Theosophy has suffered historically for it. Blavatsky believed in the caste system, she believed in the Tzar, opposed socialism, she also believed that their were tiers of racial development, adult and child races, of which Aryans were the adults. Rudolph Steiner steered away from racialist views and adopted a cultural model, I think he realised the end result of books like "The Secret Doctrine" and was a lot more careful with his wording. This has given him a somewhat less problematic reputation than Blavatsky's, but if we look at both of these systems, Theosophy and Anthroposophy, we can find the grist for white supremacism in various parts.

Check out this amazing log of racism during the 19th century
http://www.geocities.com/ru00ru00/racismhistory/19thcent.html
It's an eye opener to see racism making intellectual inroads in parallel to the birth of modernity and the ascent of science. The Nazi philosophy used both science and esoteric doctrine typical to the previous century, in this sense it was an original form of racism. Race mysticism on the other hand can be seen as a part of the archaic revival favoured by fascists both German and Japanese.

Dutch East Indies Film Project and Babelfish

This site belongs to The Dutch Indonesian Film Archives who will be close to our hearts in the near future. Its the "Films" pages text explaining their content. (PS. Check out the links page as it is very good)

http://www.geocities.com/indischfilmarchief/film.htm

I have translated the page above with "Babel Fish" an online translator powered by Systrans
It comes out as this (look below).... Bad grammar but one can get the gist... Use an online dictionary for the rest, You can browse with Babelfish once you have entered a URL.. its just slower...

First films

Just like the english and the french in their colonies, also the Dutch started film after 1910 on always larger scale in India. The prerecordings which they made there have nearly always the character of a documentary. Real speelfilms in the modern sense of the word were not made, some an exception apart from. Thus around 1915 a very briefly lasting film was made with the title "Mina, the service little girl, will inkoopen do", in which a Javanese woman house is sent by its European mistress to the market to do messages there. Underway she comes her pleased against as a result of which Mina forget the time entirely. If she comes eventually at home its mistress is so angry that Mina - perhaps definite - are sent away. Striking in this small film is, what concerns the beginning and end that there none some can exist doubt for the spectator that the European woman, the mistress, superior are to Mina, the "stupid" native woman. This clear bipartition in the status of the European and those of the domestic population is not independent. In nearly every film of for the years 20, and frequently also in films of later dating, this picture is recognizable. In many cases this picture is still underlined tussentitels as "Balinese is filial in its belief" and "Menschen from the steenen era".

Euro-centrism

To put that the Indian filmgenre could only qualified as European-propagandist and possibly even as racist however a crooked picture creates. A better approach is speak of euro-centrisme. It is the European who is in India present and it seems from time to time only occasional be that there also still a domestic population exists. In 1920, there were about 168,000 Europeans in India on a population of 40 millions "indonesiërs"; if we the film pictures will have believe be read its these figures, published in 1930 foutief and must correctly the other way around. Nevertheless there more interest in the domestic population arose as from 1920. Filmoperateurs went along on exploring forwardings to borneo, Sumatra and later also nieuw-Guinea where the inheemsen with much curiosity examined and were filmed. When halfway the years 20 tourism on bali started himself develop, many films which were shown abroad - mainly in the United States - in cinemas as promofilmpje, were shot also there.

Company films, private Recordings and the end

In the same decade also individuals discovered, in the beginning especially ventures and later also amateurs, the possibilities of the film. On large scale proceeded to commit of only scope promotion films to let manufacture of own bldg. and production process. Much of the films which are now still kept for this reason concern the processing of sugar sheer, sisal, tea, rubber and quinine. The amateur films made in nederlands-Indië have been then defined clear of a another type above. We frequently see familiekiekjes, made during trips, festivals or other special occasions. Although appalling many of this type films are made, the largest part has disappeared of this after 1942 then definitively an end came to the amateurfilmen by the Japanese irruption. The films which anno 2003 are kept have remained products nearly all for the second world war already in the Netherlands. Generally it one or two concerns short film roles which have been taken along by Europeans from India for family members in our country. Unfortunately also this ensure has not been possible that all these unique films are kept have remained. Many people have supposedly disposed of, ignorance, the old film roles or express verstoffen on spots with large temperatuurschommelingen such as attics and cellars. In the past ten years the attention for old has been frequently deeply put away and sometimes also forgets small films has increased. Formerly it only the well-known Indian amateur film expert Jan Brocades Zaalberg was who kept himself - moreover successfully - busy with collecting and conserving 8mm and 16mm films, later the NIOD did that research to "Indian home-movies" and nowadays Indian film file that will make film prerecordings with an unique set-up (to see "aim" and "films") accessibly for those whom they want see.

Correspondence with Robert Rouveray

Of http://www.rouveroy.com/


On May 10, 2007, at 8:46 AM, Dean McInerney wrote

Dear Robert.

I enjoyed you site and found your collection of pictures very helpful. I am currently researching an animated documentary currently in development here in Melbourne Australia. The subject is the diaries of Herman Fokker, a civilian dutch-german and an inmate of a couple of Civillian POW camps in Java and Sumatra, and who died in Sumatra. He was first interned in Tjimahi near Surabaya in Java and died in a camp near Palembang Sumatra, (Not sure what one it was...). His Grandson-in-law is producing a film out of the diaries and I am gathering a clearer picture of what these camps were like.

There are so many questions I would like to ask. Keeping any form of record was in some cases very clandestine and possibly fatal. In the case of Herman he was forbidden to write about the future... This is what he does... what is lacking is much description about what actually happened inside. I get the feeling he was protecting his loved ones from pain...
Can you help me by pointing me in the right direction... Maybe I can call you and we can talk some time over the phone.

Yours
Dean McInerney


On 5/15/07, Robert Rouveroy wrote:

Dear Dean,

Thanks for your flattering observations on my site. I wish I could help you, but the camps differed very much in treatment. It often mirrored the local sentiments of the natives and the Japanese were very quick to respond to that, resulting in widely diverse situations for the camp internees.

For instance, Tjimahi camp was actually a former Dutch Army base, situated near Bandoeng (West Java, approx. 1000 miles west of Surabaya (East Java). The natives there, Sundanese, were quite friendly towards the Dutch, so Tjimahi camp was rather relaxed. Towards the end of the war most Tjimahi detainees were scattered to other camps and the gentleman you named, Herman Fokker, ended up in Palembang. Now there was quite a different situation. Food became very scarce, also for the natives, as most food, rice, animals, were shipped to Japan. Out of frustration because of the imminent Japanese defeat the treatment became more extreme and many died. I cannot say how that particular camp was: I was interned about another 1200 or so miles north of Palembang, at Sirengo-rengo, south of Medan on Sumatra's East Coast.

The Allied soldiers, the POW's suffered the most, I'm told that the Aussies were particularly sought out by the Japanese as you must have read many accounts of the atrocities inflicted on them. My brother was a Dutch soldier who worked on the infamous Pakan Baru railroad and barely made it out alive. But he was one of the lucky ones, lived until he was 89 years and has died recently. My mother died in Aek Pamienke, a women's camp. My sisters are still living, 82 and 84, myself 80 years young.

You will find a very well written account exhaustively researched, of the horrors of the Pakan Baroe railroad called: "Last Stop Pakan Baru", written by Henk Hovinga, a well respected historian who wrote down the stories as told to him by the survivors. It can be had from him on a DVD In English, profusely illustrated with (I think) more than 150 drawings, photographs etc. It will give you an excellent idea how it was in those camps.

You should contact him here: henk.hovinga@tiscali.nl

Thank you again for your interest. It is easy to forget what happened all these years ago for those who have not experienced it. I hope this will help you in your endeavors with your film. Please feel free to contact me if you need to know more.

Yours truly,
Robert Rouveroy

On 15 May 2007, at 4.30PM; Dean McInerney wrote...

Dear Robert

Thanks for the response, and thanks for the clarification regarding the cause and fate of Palembang. There is a lot of discrepancies in the information left by Hermann. I believe that Henk Hovinga has been contacted by my research partner already, and the DVD/CD-ROM is around and I will get a chance to read it soon. We are certainly referring to the drawings as they are the only surviving portraits of the interiors of these places.

Perhaps Hermann was actually spared the kind of horrors you read about. Naturally there are differences between camps, interesting that you think the Japanese acted according to the prevailing local indigenous sentiment. Does that mean that the Commander in each camp restrains his own individual attitude and follows such dictates. I realise that the Japanese Military is a pretty uniform and rigid hierarchy, even as far as any military is... but even so. I find the politics between Japan and the Nationalists in Indonesia during the War baffling. Acting as anti-imperial avengers, synchronising their actions to be in concord with local people, yet working thousands of young Indonesian men to death (with Soekarno's approval).

I'm also interested in your comment about Australians being singled out for brutality... Who told you that one... I am curious. If you read the compendium of WWII atrocities in the pacific campaign, you notice a lot of Australians getting killed. Australians were hardly imperialists at the time, it makes me wonder what was happening.

Cheers

Dean


15/5/07
Dear Dean,

A few misconceptions of course. What happened was that the Japanese Army was very thinly spread in Indonesia. You may appreciate that, while Indonesia is mostly sea, distances are like in Australia. So, they used hastily trained natives, called Hei-ho's to guard the camps, together with Korean draftees. Those were the worst, the Hei-ho's were used to the Dutch and in many cases were muck kinder towards the (civilian) detainees. And in the beginning of the occupation they thought that the Dutch might come back to power, so they acted accordingly.

The situation of the Romusha's, the 'volunteer' Indonesian workers was also quite different at first. They were asked to work for a "greater Indonesia" and were promised land. Most of them came from densely populated Java with little expectations of gainful employment and were sent to sparsely populated Sumatra and Kalimantan. So they did think this was a great opportunity indeed. Only, food was scarce all over as the Japanese stripped Indonesia bare of nearly all natural resources to ship them to Japan. So, internees in the camps were fed, if sparsely, but the Romusha's were in the end left to fend for themselves and as a result, hundreds of thousands died a miserable death. It is one of the great (and little known) horrors of WWII, not adequately researched. I do have an Indonesian recruitment film made in 1943 or thereabouts. You're welcome to it if you're interested. BTW, as far as I know, Sukarno did not initiate this.

You should understand a little of the "bushido" attitude of the Japanese. They had great respect for bravery and always bowed deep before an enemy-before lopping off his head if the opportunity arrised. It so happened that many Dutch (professional) soldiers left the Dutch East Indies after 1941, to fight the Germans, leaving the Dutch East Indies Army (KNIL) greatly depleted. The then government had mostly trained natives, mostly Ambonese soldiers, augmented by hastily mobilized civilians with little or no training, our so-called weekend soldiers. They were supposed to stop battle-hardened Japanese soldiers with 12 years service in China and Korea.

So, the Indies were quickly overrun. The Dutch army surrendered and as POW's were put to work, even shipped off to Japan to work in the coal mines near Nagasaki. Many of them died at sea because the Jap ships were sunk by submarines who often did not know there were POW's on board. The way that the Japanese saw the Dutch soldiers was that they were cowards as they met little resistance. Accordingly, they had little respect for them.

The Australians were a different bunch. Initially shipped to defend Singapore, they ended up after its fall on Java or Borneo and the Spice Islands. They kept on fighting, harassing the Japanese and were generally a pain in Japan's butt. So when they were captured, they were treated with respect and, if judged guilty, dispatched with ceremony. Sometimes excesses occurred, at one occasion a group of Aussies were herded inside an abandoned mine and the entrance was bombed shut. A Google search will tell you more, also, check my "LINKS" page. And quite a few movies were made of such incidents: you can find them on IMDB.

I've hated the Japanese for a long time. They stole my youth, they killed my mother. I did not understand them. About 5 years ago I visited Japan with a group of Dutch intend to try to get reparations for the losses we suffered. What we saw was a totally different country than we had imagined. I made a film of my impressions, culminating in a confrontation with an ex-camp commander. He denied all and every thing that had happened in those camps. The dichotomy in my feelings still bothers me. I keep on hating the old guard, but the new, young Japan is alright.

But I was glad to leave the country behind. I never want to visit there again.

Robert

...a sea of time quickly evaporates...

Great Links

This is a collection of good links....

For a horrifying summation of all known Pacific WWII atrocities (almost ALL Japanese). The Author is very anti-japanese but thats fine by me.
http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/massacres_pacific.html

A fantastic image bank of Dutch Indonesia but unfortunately a slow and clumsy browsing experience due to language, bandwidth and design issues. Note well that the word "bladeren" means browse and "zoeken" means search and the "Themas" (themes) toolbar contains the index of galleries. Groot means great or big an dindicates the pics come in a bigger size
http://www.geheugenvannederland.nl/gvnNL/handler.cfm


Dutch National Film Archives
http://www.filmmuseum.nl/website/exec/frontpageread/

List and links for POW camps in Sumatra and Java

http://www.mansell.com/pow_resources/camplists/list_2.html#anchor386526