Ilse Ends the Silence
Ilse Smit
All Ilse wanted to do was tell her father what happened. She wanted to share the burden of the terror, the hunger, the grief. She deserved no less. She was only thirteen years old, and she needed someone to listen and to care what had happened to her. But it never happened.
Oh sure, she shared bits and pieces, but usually when she tried to speak of those years, she was cut off.
“Do not live in the past.”
“If you have problems, keep them to yourself.”
“You must forget about it and move on.”
Perhaps the ones she tried to tell were simply not interested. Or perhaps they could not bear to hear the truth, and so they forced Ilse the child, the sibling, the wife, the mother, to bear the truth alone.
So for over sixty years, the whole story lived in her memory, unforgettable and unresolvable. I listened to her story, painful bit by painful bit; she relived moments that paralyzed my sensibilities. I wrote it as she told it, and as she lived it.
Has Ilse suffered emotional trauma from her silence? I think there’s no doubt of it. We were together in a small take-out restaurant near a touch-and-go landing field. The Navy pilots were practicing that day, and a jet sliced the air overhead with a mighty roar. Ilse buried her face in her hands and tears streamed as her body shook. I had never seen anyone experience a flashback, but there was no doubt I was seeing it here. The restaurant owner and I soothed and comforted Ilse until she came back to the safe present.
Has the writing of her story brought Ilse peace of mind? I don’t know if that’s possible after all these years. But at least she no longer suffers the truth alone.
Watch the program.
Hi Dorothy,
My heritage background is the same as Ilse and Edith. My father was a POW at the hands of the Japanese on the Burma Railway as so countless others. Our family members were torn apart in all directions. Thank you for writing this story about Ilse and Edith. You can understand the turmoil this must have caused keeping it under the radar for so long. The time has come for the rest of the world to know this story during WWII in the Asian-Pacific theatre. Kudos to Isle for her journaling and having the foresight to pass the stories down to her descendants. And most of all, thank you Dorothy for listening.
Thank You / Dank U Wel / Terima Kassi,
Bianca
Yes, Ilse has archived so many details in her journaling and in her memory. I knew, as the story began to unfold, it belonged to a world audience, as does your father’s story and the 400,000 stories that came out of the Dutch East Indies and the Bersiap during those years of destruction and heartbreak. The world needs to listen!
Dorothy,
I learned of your book from Bianca (above) and the IndoProject. I’m the DIL of survivors – one ‘dutch colonist’ who married an ‘Indo’ (Indo-Dutch heritage) Bravo to you and thank you so much for telling Ilse’s story! Has the book been released yet? I would like to purchase it.
Eileen, the book is not out yet, but I’ll let you know when it is! Thanks for your interest.
Hi Dorothy
I can’t wait to buy this book for myself and my family! I’m a fellow Whidbey Islander, former neighbor of Ilse, and also a child of Dutch-Indonesian war survivors. They are an amazing group of people, very modest about what they’ve been through, so not many outside the “Indo” community know their story. Thanks for helping it get told!
Bernice, I hope you know your parents’ stories. I would love to hear more about them. It has been my privilege to get Ilse’s story in print, and it will be my pleasure to hand-deliver signed copies to your Whidbey Island door step. thanks for your interest and support
Dorothy,
Having had the pleasure of reading the full manuscript, I can’t imagine anyone putting it down once they’ve started reading it. I am in awe of this book! Truly astonishing. Throughout the story, I kept asking myself, “How in the world did they survive that?”
When can we expect to see the first printing?
John, you’ll be the first to know when the first printing is out. Thanks for your interest. My awe matches yours–as Ilse’s story unfolded, in our conversations, it was the very question in my mind. How did they survive? Malnutrition, torture, disease, political genocide. It is, truly, a story of the strength of the human spirit. Thanks for your great review!
Dot: You don’t just talk about it — you just do it! Go girl go. I know this book will be a success! I want one of the firsts, signed by the author. I look forward to that and support you and thank you for all you do for the Whidbey Island writing community. Thanks and Smiles, Nasus
Nasus, when the book is released I will hit your doorstep with a signed copy. Thanks for your support. This has been a long learning curve for me as a biographer. The Whidbey Island writing community has been with me all the way.
Dorothy … I can’t wait to read this book! Although my grandparents and their two daughters got out of the Dutch East Indies just before the Japanese invaded, the place is still dear to my heart. My grandfather was the manager of a Dutch-owned tobacco plantation and he spoke highly of the Indo people. Thanks for telling this story!
I love your enthusiasm, Carol, and the minute the book is released, I’ll be in your inbox. Would love to hear your grandparents’ story. Was one of the two daughters your mother?
Dorothy – Slightly tardy response but nevertheless sincere congratulations and thanks for bringing Ilse and Edith’s story to light. As I commented during the broadcast, I empathize and can identify with their description of life under Japanese yoke and the subsequent struggle for Indonesia’s independence. I collected 24 similar stories and these are published in the book “The Defining Years of the DE Indies, 1942-1949……….” May your book reach a large US audience so that they get a glimpse of what life was like in Japanese concentration camp during WWII in the Pacific and the treatment civilians were subjected to. I highly recommend it!
Jan A. Krancher, PhD-
http://www.krancher.org.
Jan, you are so right–this is a new piece of history to most Americans. Ilse and I are dedicated to joining you and other crusaders, like Bianca Dias-Halpert, in getting the story up front and center. As Ilse and the courageous survivors who contributed their stories to THE DEFINING YEARS OF THE DEI… have broken the silence, so will others. History’s truth will be heard.
Ilse’s story is well worth the reading. The narrative is riveting and should be a recommended book for those of us who have never had to live through the terror of fighting to survive. I hope it will be available to the public soon; let me know when the printing is expected.