There are more stories out there
What are the chances of two women who were in Japanese concentration camps on the island of Java during WWII meeting for the first time at a mega-church service in Snohomish, WA 65 years later? It happened! Ilse, her new friend, and I spent Thursday afternoon together. Clara is in her mid-eighties and she is just now writing down her story, with the help of a friend.
“But not for publication!” Clara emphasizes. Of course, dear woman: your story is important as a vital piece of history whether it is presented to your own family or to the whole American family. The key thing is to TELL it. Clara’s children and grandchildren will finally know what happened.
I hope Clara will agree to share a little piece of her story by letting her friend go to “Share your stories” on the sidebar, to the right. I hope others will add theirs. Firsthand from survivors, or secondhand from the next generation, let’s work together to end the silence.
Watch the program.
Amazing, heartbreaing and inspiring.
Hi i am leaving a message in supprt of ur new book.My moeders parents are dutch-indo Oma was from Sumatera, and Opa was from Java ,Opa was a Pow by the Japanese for 3 1/2 years and he also saved his broer who was in another camp,Oma had 10 broers and sisters her Parents had a sucessful sugarcane plantation called tjolomadu or something like that they had 10 kids but omas father died bu the japanese along with many of her brothers on the “Railroad”
My grandparents moved to holland in 1949 that is where my moeder was born my great oma went to papua new guinea.We have no record of what happened to Omas father as he was killed in 1945 The sadest part of this story is that Oma dislikes talking about this and i so wish she would document all she knew.She is still alive though and is teaching me all her Indonesian recipies.Good luck with your book and i look forward to reading it when it comes out .I would like to show my friends who dont understand about my heritage and how it shapes who ia m today
Oma and her sisters and my great oma were in a camp as well but they all survived,The plantation was taken away from them i wish i could go there and see if its still around
Well get those recipes in writing, David! I appreciate your comment about people understanding your heritage and how it shapes who you are today. Every story that comes out furthers that understanding–so important!
Yes, I want to see the story of my family acknowledged at last! My family traces it’s heritage back to the VOC and to the original Indonesian freedom fighters (Diponegoro), they lost everything because of the 20-50% Dutch Heritage being killed after WWII, and had to flee Indonesia, they had wealth and had it taken away, left it behind in secret on their way to the Netherlands, and then their lives in he U.S.
We want to read more of Dorothy’s books!
Wow, 400 years of roots pulled up and everything lost. I think that’s a story. Would love to hear more. As for my books–I will be a happy woman when you are able to read THIS one!
hello dear Dorothy,
Ignorance thats what happened with the story which was never told.
You finally had the courage to write the story down, so i hope your book has to be made very soon, the world must know about all the suffering the people in de formal dutch indies did.
Its a important for all of us,including our childeren!
So go on and try publish it!
Love Cornelia from Holland.
Cornelia, your encouragement means so much. Ilse lived it, you know–I only wrote it down. She’s the courageous one!
I have always been interested in this topic, both my Oma and Opa were prisoners of war and my Oma has always refused to speak about it, I would like to know what they went through and where my history lies.
Oh, Danielle, you will learn, perhaps not from your Oma and Opa, but from connecting with others who have shared their experience. Thanks for checking in.
Hello readers,
I know that lots of stories about Dutch Indonesia people or untold. Most of the people like my grandparents and their brothers and sisters don’t want to talk about it. Too much pain and sadness. The Dutch Indonesian (Indo) have always been an outsider. Not accepted by their mothers (indonesian) family and not accepted by their fathers family (any european origin). Stories about daily fights, about the war, kept in prison but also left alone by the Dutch government when Indonesia took back their independence. And many thats why I support this book. To tell the story where I’m from! ThnQ Dorothy Read.
“The Dutch Indonesian has always been an outsider.” That just stops me, Daniel. I hope that putting these stories out there in daylight somehow helps.
Dorothy,
I just wanted to tell you how happy I am to hear about your upcoming book and how glad I am that these stories will be finally told! My Oma was born in Indonesia and was in a camp. Her first husband died in the war. She passed away a few years ago, but had dementia for years prior to that. Before her dementia set in, she would not talk about her time in the camp. As a very ‘watered’ down Dutch/Indo, I would love to know the history of my roots. In her last years, she had night terrors in which she spoke Indonesian mixed with some Japanese. I helped take care of her during that time and it was horrible to hear her relive those memories.
Every year in September we get together with a Dutch\Indo community in Ocean City, NJ. Although there are not a lot of the original members left, there are some that still attend. I’ve been going since I was a child and I love learning a little bit more every year -even if it is how to cook a certain dish that I remember my Oma making! Thanks again for pursuing this book. **Make sure it gets published in ebook so I can read it on my Nook!
**
Those night terrors happen in the daytime, too, for those who have experienced such trauma. Your poor Oma, to have to relive the horror over and over. I wonder if it would have been different for her, had she talked about it.
For those who lived through the Japanese POW camps their inheritance seems to be pain and silence their only way to cope. For their family members who love them …we sit with questions unanswered. End the Silence would be a great way for family members to be able to catch a glimpse inside of the camp experience.
…and maybe encourage those silent elders to open up. What a sad thought, NG–an inheritance of pain and silence.
My Papa spent 3 years in a Japanese prison camp and my Mama spent 6 months in a Japanese concentration camp with my older sister and brother. I was born after the war and my parents told us of their ordeal. All the suffering my parents and other Dutch Indies people needs to be told. Thank you.
I think we’ll see more and more stories coming out publicly now, Sonja–interest is growing outside the Indo community, too!
My oma had a very glimpse memory of her past, she was 12 when war ended, sometime she told me about the good moments during dutch east indies, and how terrifying it was during japanese occupation. But she was lucky because she was thought as chinese instead of Indo. their chinese face allowed them to survive during that period.
Though she was fluent in Dutch, I think she grew associated herself with chinese since my opa was dutch-educated chinese. Both spoke fluent Dutch but didn’t inherit the language to their children (how I wish they had).
My oma passed away suddenly in 2005, leaving big mystery behind all of us. All of sudden I began to ask, who is her parent? How did she live during dutch east indies? Who are her ancestors? These questions lead me to unravel the forgotten history of Indo. I never thought we are actually considered a distinguished tribe and was part of the Dutch East Indies.
the Indonesian history books deleted all the involvement of Indo in the collective knowledge, I guess it cant be helped because Indo was always considered as “Dutch” by the natives, they don’t aware the difference between totok and eurasian.
So much things I want to share, but this comment box won’t be enough
One of the outcomes of this blog is that I have gained so many insights into the Indo culture. If you have more to share, Calvin, pour it out. Don’t worry about the size of the box.
There is a need to make people aware of what our people have gone through. It is a fascinating time in history. My father was a prisoner of war WWII held captive by the Japanese in Burma. He was enlisted in the Dutch army as a young Indo in Jakarta. Over the years he has told us so many stories, surprisingly he is not bitter. He is now 87 and seems to be sharing many more of the unpleasant memories of his captivity than he did while we were growing up. My family, which is quite a large group of Indos would definitely be glad to read Dorothy Read’s book.
It’s great that your father is open about his experiences. Would he be willing to share a story or two on this site? The invitation is open.
Dear Dorothy,
I want you to know that I truly appreciate the work you’re doing. I think it’s very important to make the world aware of our stories! My Oma and Opa were both born and raised in the Dutch East Indies, and my father and his brothers were born there during and shortly after the war. Oma was put in a concentration camp along with my oldest uncle, and Opa was taken prisoner by the Japanese while in the Dutch navy. They both survived and brought their family to the Netherlands around 1955, and then to the USA around 1960. My Oma passed away about 8 years ago, but she used to tell me some amazing stories of her experiences. Opa is still alive (93 years old), so I am going to tell him about this website. He might be interested in sharing some of his stories.
I look forward to hearing about other Indos and their experiences!
Marya
Omigosh, I would love to put your opa’s stories on this site. That’s what we’re all about–getting the stories out there.
Dorothy,
Any material which will raise consciousness of our culture and bring more understanding, I am definitely for it.
Let our culture not become a figment of the imagination and a ball of unanswered questions from the present generations. Stories need to be told and passed on. I cannot get enough English written material.
Dorothy, thank you for sharing your story, your pain, family’s pain and history with us.
Greetings,
Mark Schiffmaier
Thank you, Mark. The story is Ilse’s, of course, and I can only imagine the pain. We hope to have her story in print before too long.
I’m looking forward to reading your book. I am married to the son of Indos who spent the greater part of World War II in Japanese prison camps in Indonesia. This is a story that needs to be told before those who experienced it firsthand are no longer with us.
Thank you!
Donna, I hope your husbands parents have shared their stories with him.
Both of my parents are Dutch Indonesian and immigrated to Seattle WA in 1961. My husband and I are currently on vacation in Holland and were able to attend my Oma’s 99th birthday. There were lots of extended family at the party and some stories were shared. I love to hear about years gone by and would love to add a book to my personal library or even kindle.
There’s no doubt that this should be published. This was a part of history.
Thank you for opening up and exposing those terrible times. I was young, but still remember
everything that happened to our family. My father imprisoned — trumped up false charge — because he supposedly could not work 100% for the enemy (Japs). The courage my mother showed trying to protect us, feeding us, making sure we went “to school” she was a teacher, her name is Winnie Edith Loke-Droop.
I do not often talk about those years, but have had the opportunity to tell member of my church,
Trinity Lutheran Church here in Hawthorne, Cal. My distrust of people finds it roots in those long ago experiences. How the Japs treated people, we were lucky that we had such an upstanding
mother. We lived in Bandoeng during the war; the bersiap time was even worse. I saw arm and legs dangling from tree branches. Looking back though, it certainly prepared me for a lot of tough time in my live.
Thank you for compiling this book. Unless people have gone though a war understanding is not really forthcoming.
Met vriendelijke groeten en heel veel success, Winnie Elizabeth Davis-Loke
Are you related to Louise Loke?
No, but I’ll ask Ilse if that is a name from her past. Is Louise a survivor of the DEI demise?
Note: The instructions for the three blocks above are quite unreadable. Not sure what info the second and last blocks ask for.
Dear Dorothy:
A few minutes ago I finished watching the interview on Idaho PTV where amazing stories were recalled by Ilse Smit. It was obvious that she is still suffering from the trauma she experieneced some 60 years ago. Although she says that she has told her story for the good of her children, her body language tells me that there is so much more that she, knowingly or otherwise, has not told yet. It is unfortunate that her father had and still appears to have such a restricting influence on her. I’m not implying to recommend it, but I wonder if counceling would be good for her and her inner soul. She appears to be be in so much pain, still. . . .
One thing I’d like to bring up, namely, that Soekarno was exiled by the Dutch to (Dutch) New Guinea, not unlike the undesirables who were ousted from England to Australia. You spoke of Indonesian hotheads, well, Soekarno was one such person, thus his excile.
Also, during the war, every so often the Japanese occupiers would “recruit” Indonesians; actually, they were corraled into an area that had an opening where Japanese soldiers stood and counted the recruits as they stepped into the pen. Those that hesitated at the entance were pushed or pulled in. These men, who knew nothing about what was going to happen to them were the newest recruits where they learned discipline in a hurry. The more advanced recruits were issued a rifle, i.e., a wooden replica of the Japanese rifles. They were given green uniforms, thus the nickname for them of “klepon,” which is an Indonesian delecacy of brown sugar in a green outer skin.
The recruits went through training, including indoctrination. Every so often, a group of these recruits would march in the streets, often singing in Indonesian when they knew that Dutch/Indos would hear their songs. One of the lyrics was “Hanjoerken-lah, moesoeh kita. Itoe-lah Amerika.” Translated: “Let’s pulverize our enemy. Which is America.”
These recruits, which were indoctrinated to hate the Americans, the Brits, and, of course, the Dutch didn’t need much encouragement from Brother Soekarno, a.k.a. “Bung Karno” to resist the Dutch forcefully after the war ended. In some respects, that era was more frightening for the Dutch than it was during WW II.
There are more stories, way too long to describe in this blog, and I believe that the story of the Dutch/Indos should include this era as much as the time during WW II. Many of like-stories could be shared by the many Dutch/Indos who have been attracted to the Los Angeles area, where the greatest congregation of the Dutch/Indos is located outside the Netherlands, as I understand it.
Incidentally, would you provide me with the Jan’s full name, the author that called in during the PBS show, as well as the title of the book he wrote? ISBN# would help, too.
Thank you for your help , to try to provide an opportunity to the offspring of people like Ilse Smit what people like her have endured during these war years and finally have found peace and rest in their adopted country, the United States of America.
Peace,
R. Smith,
Topsham, Maine
I have a question for you Mrs Read regarding the term Indo:
Are Indo’s only those of Indonesian anscestry or those who were born in the VOC, or all of the above? Thank you..
ps, regardless, I have read and heard that those who repatriated, regardless of DNA, were basicly told to shut up about it because of the terrible events that occurred in Europe/NL during the war as well. My family members were also so very tanned that they were cfalled names & quickly learned to hide this chapter of their lives away – to forget it and such. It seems very disturbing to me.
I have a question for you Mrs Read regarding the term Indo:
Are Indo’s only those of Indonesian anscestry or those who were born in the VOC, or all of the above? Thank you..
ps, regardless, I have read and heard that those who repatriated, regardless of DNA, were basicly told to shut up about it because of the terrible events that occurred in Europe/NL during the war as well. My family members were also so very tanned that they were cfalled names & quickly learned to hide this chapter of their lives away – to forget it and such. It seems very disturbing to me.
Even though I’m an Indo from Holland, I’m really interested in your book. My grandparents repatriated to Holland, but most of their direct family members moved on to the US.
I do hope the book gets published and will be available online.
Kind regards,
Duco
I am hoping someone can throw light on the reason how we evaded being thrown into Camp. I understand that there were so many Dutch and other Nationalities in Indonesia that the Japanese could not put everyone into Camp straight away
I was born in Surabaja, Java in 1941. My parents were Dutch but divorced early in 1941. At the beginning of the Japanese invasion my father was sent into Camp. Somehow my mother, elder brother and I did not get thrown into Camp. Why would we not have been thrown into camp? There was speculation that my mother said that she was partly Indonesian but I now read that even Dutch-Indonesians were thrown into camp. Does anyone know the possible reasons? Another possibility was that my mother got a job with the Swiss Red Cross and this helped her to keep us out of the camps for longer.. Both my parents are dead now.
Connie, I suggest you write to biancadh@theindoproject.org with your question. She will refer you to some great resources within the Indo community that will help you find the answers. Most able-bodied men went to work camps to help further the Japanese war effort. Not all women and children went to camps. In Ilse’s case, her family was sent to a hotel when their house was taken by the Japanese. Unfortunately, resistance activity was uncovered there, so everyone in the hotel was sent to the camps. Kekep in touch and let us know what you learn.
Best you should change the page title There are more stories out there | End the Silence to more catching for your subject you make. I enjoyed the the writing however.
Yep, we’re about to tackle this site and get it better equipped to take in stories and comments. Now that the book is about to be launched, I’ll have more time for the blog.
My Oma passed away just short of her 100th birthday and she never discussed what happened during her internment with her having to take care of my father and uncle. She was never encouraged to, she was encouraged to get on with it and be thankful to survive. (She was of course) but I think this stiff upper lip and try to start all over again after losing everything did not help her personally, obviously she suffered a lot. And to never talk of it, for fear of being thought of as a whiner did her no favours, she had an air of sadness about her. These stories need to be told. My uncle died before Oma. He became obese, and I think that as he was four yrs old at the time of internment he had a deep fear of being hungry. My Grandfather and my eldest Uncle were sent to the mens work camp. Grandad died in 1973 he had heart problems after the war.
Dad was only 18months old at the time of internment and was five when the Japanese surrendered Dad has but three distinct memories of being interned. The best memory of my father was when they had a party on a British destroyer and the soldiers had rigged up a canvas swimming pool on deck and had cakes and lollies. Dad said they flew on a DC3 plane back to Singapore from Java after the surrender (not sure how long that took) and then brought to Australia by the Moreton Bay ship. I was wondering if anyone else out there can shed some more light about this party which up until age 5 was my fathers only good memory or the transport back. There is no one left to ask in our family.
Regards
Teri
Teri, thanks for posting this. Now go to The Indo Project website and get on the blog where you can ask your question of thousands of Indos who are connected with the Project. Good luck!
please share. My family never put any stories in writing
It is such a privilege to share Ilse’s story–in writing!