A Teenager in World War Two
Dear Sami and Liam,
To answer your questions about my experiences during the Second World War, let me share some stories about that time. I was 16 years old when the Japanese occupied the Netherland East Indies, that now has become the Republic of Indonesia.
At 16 I graduated from MULO (Dutch junior high school) in 1941. I continued my education to be a school teacher in Surabaya called OSVO (Opleiding School Voor Vak Onderwijzeressen). Later this was called Teacher Training School for Home Economics and Upper School for Family Welfare. My mother’s brother lived in Surabaya and I stayed at his house with his family.
Japan began its expansion towards East Asia. The British colony of Malacca (now Malaysia) and Singapore had fallen into the hands of the Japanese army. The atmosphere was very tense here in Dutch East Indies: the colonial government was preparing for the attack. They held air raid drills. If a siren sounded, we all had to run for cover. We had to glue paper on glass windows and at night time we had to be in the dark so as not to be seen from the air. Since the war coming, I was called home by my parents. I had only completed one year at OSVO Surabaya .
On March 2, 1942 the Japanese army invaded the country without any resistance from the Dutch East Indies troops. Dutch people were rounded up and detained in internment camps. Thus began the Japanese rule of our homeland.
The Japanese called themselves the “older brother” who will liberate Indonesia. Important positions formerly held by the Dutch were now filled by Japanese. Schools were losing Dutch teachers, replaced by native teachers. Dutch language was banned and we had to learn Indonesian language. The calendar was replaced with Showa year: so 1942 was 2602. They changed the time back 2 hours so that the time was the same as Japan. Radio was censored so we could not listen to broadcasts from abroad. If we passed a post guarded by a Japanese soldier, we had to bow while facing him, if we were on a bicycle we had to get off and walk our bike. If we did not do this, we could get smacked.
In the schools every day students and teachers must hold a Japanese flag hoisting ceremony, facing northeast toward Japan and shouted “Tenno Heika Banzai!, (Long Live the Emperor)”. We also learned Japanese in school.
The most feared was soldiers from Kempeitai, who could arrest and detain anyone thought to oppose the Japanese. The Kempeitai were very cruel.
My father did not receive his pension anymore (he was laid off from his position as a judge by the Dutch government before). To support the family he accepted an offer to become the chief judge of the district court in Purbalingga. We moved again after a year there to a town called Banjarnegara.
Life was very difficult. The food that people grew was shipped to Japan. We had a hard time finding food, clothing and other necessities. Fortunately my mother could always find ways to get food. She had to barter clothes or other items in exchange for food. When we were in Banjarnegara my father was sometimes invited to hunt with the Regent, Oom Soemitro Kolopaking, still a family relation. Once he came home with wild boar meat.
There was a prediction made by a wise man named Jayabaya: Java will be ruled by yellow-skinned people but only for the life span of corn. Corn takes 3 months to grow, but the Japanese remained in power longer than 3 months. It turned out to be a much longer occupation.
I was bored of staying at home, but my school the OSVO in Surabaya was closed. My parents also did not want to let their daughter leave the nest. To pass the time I entered a Home Economics School and took courses in sewing and baking in Purwokerto.
When a Home Economics School opened up in Banjarnegara, I was offered to teach at the school. There are only two teachers: a principal, and me as a teacher. My salary was 20 rupiahs a month. But I was happy to be busy. I was 19 years.
Before the Japanese occupation I have never knew anything about the nationalist movement (a movement that wanted Indonesia to be independent). Now I began to hear the names of leaders like Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta. They were released from exile by the Dutch colonial rule and was now working with the Japanese officials.
The people suffered very badly. I often saw women wearing burlap sacks as clothing. Many people had scabs all over their skin (like an ulcer) that was really difficult to cure. Rice was scarce, we often ate corn and “Tiwul” made from cassava.
On August 14, 1945, after America dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese surrendered to the Allies. On August 17, Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaimed Indonesia’s independence. It was broadcasted on the radio, but since we did not have a radio, we did not immediately hear the news. We only heard the news a few days after.
On September 29, Allied soldiers, in this case British troops, landed in Jakarta to disarm the Japanese and liberate prisoners of war. Dutch soldiers (NICA) were piggybacking to try to get back to power. The Netherlands was just freed from Nazi German occupation by the allies .
The Second World War was finished! We were free from the oppression of the Japanese but the Dutch wanted to come back. The struggle to get the world to recognize Indonesia’s independence had just begun!
Our family in Banjarnegara was far away from the political arena, but we also felt so happy to be free. We raised the red and white flag, and wore red and white badges made out of cans, and shouted “Merdeka!” (Freedom!) with a clenched fist. I was still teaching in the small town of Banjarnegara in relative calm and peace although we did not have enough food and clothing.
The Dutch government established NICA (Netherland Indies Civil Administration) in an attempt to regain control of Indonesia. In 1974 the Dutch military action seized several areas in Java, including the town of Purwokerto and Banyumas. The Indonesian Army (TKR) moved to Banjarnegara, as well as the Student Army (TP) consisting of university and high school students. A guerrilla war against the Dutch military started.
The people were getting restless because of the threat of war. They began to flee from the cities occupied by the Dutch. Our family took in a family with a pregnant wife. Their baby was born at our house on December 2, 1948 .
During that time I worked in a soup kitchen for the Student Army, so got to know them. When I was playing basketball in the square with my students, they pretended to be in training so they could watch the girls playing basketball.
In 1948 there was news that the Dutch army was to continue its military action through Banjarnegara to Yogyakarta, which at that time was the center of government R I. My parents decided to flee out of the city, we walked to a little village named Kentheng. We stayed at the village head’s house. This house had no latrine or bathroom. My father dug a hole in the backyard covered it with a board to squat. There was an outdoors shower with water from a spring near the house. I had to learn to shower while wearing a batik sarong.
Our house in the city was used by the Students’ Army as their base. Among them were some of my cousins. Shocking news. My cousin who was the same age as me, along with several others, were killed.
Yogyakarta was captured by Dutch troops, our family moved to Banjarnegara, then later back to our home in Banyumas. My grandfather had passed away, and we were not there to bury him. It was just me and my parents. There was an offer to teach in an elementary school. I only lasted there for a few months .
Jakarta was again under the control of the Dutch. The schools were opened again. I wanted to go back to school, after a three year hiatus. But my parents did not allow this at first. They were still very protective of me. I was very sad and protested. Finally, they allowed me to go. I was determined to prove that it was not a waste to allow me to go back to school. Indeed I graduated as the top of the class.
Indonesia gained independence in December 1950 after the Round Table negotiations. Our school, OSVO, changed its name to an Indonesian one, but the Dutch teachers were still teaching. The school opened a new course for teacher training. I registered and was accepted, but I was also teaching at the same time. One by one the Dutch teachers returned to their country after their contract was complete. So now we needed to replace them with native teachers. I eventually became a teacher at the teacher’s college, after receiving a scholarship and completing further studies in the Netherlands.
