On Sunday, April 30, 2023, The Indo Project was present at the well-attended 33rd Annual Holland Festival celebrating Dutch King’s Day in Long Beach, California. This year the two annual Dutch events, Holland Festival and Dutch King’s Day, merged into ONE BIG EVENT! Over two thousand people showed up for…
On Wednesday, April 12, 2023, the debate on providing Backpay to the widows of WWII war victims was held in the 2nd Chamber by MPs of the Committee for Health, Welfare, and Sport (VWS). The salary issue has been going on for decades. During the Japanese occupation of the former…
In Colorado, Indos are meeting regularly to share a meal and build community. The Colorado Kumpulan is hosted by Lies Dohne and Teda DaCosta. The group of 40+ members meet for lunch every month at different restaurants, mostly Asian, in the greater Denver Area. If you live in Denver, the…
The Indo Project is asking you to save the date: Sunday, April 30th, 2023. There will be an ultimate event this year: the combination of the annual Holland Festival and the annual Dutch King’s Day celebration! This will allow everyone a unified event to celebrate our Dutch and Dutch East…
SoCal Indo founder Michael Passage started 2023 by hosting a very well-attended Kumpulan, which is Indonesian for “gathering”. The event was attended by Indos and others with a shared history in the Dutch East Indies. Over seventy people from multiple California counties gathered on the evening of Friday, January 6th…
A look back at The Indo Project’s top stories and news articles of 2022. Did your favorite TIP articles make the top five lists? Top Five Indo Stories #5 Oma Moesje Read about how Robert Kaya’s Oma from Kota Raja, Aceh, ended up in the Statenkwartier, The Hague. #4 Indo…
Hello to all who attended the Long Beach Holland Festival on September 5th, 2022 and especially to those that stopped by The Indo Project booth. It was an extremely hot day at 108 degrees fahrenheit, a new record since 1988 that was at 107! It was nice to meet all…
August 15th is the annual commemoration of the end of WWII in the former Dutch East Indies. An event in which we honor those who suffered and sacrificed their lives. The Indo Project is proud to be present at major events held in The Netherlands representing all the Indos worldwide…
The annual Holland Festival in Long Beach has permanently moved to Labor Day Weekend and will be celebrated this year on Sunday, September 4th, 2022. For many Southern California Indos, Memorial Day weekend in May was synonymous with the Holland Festival. The Holland Festival is an annual event celebrated at…
On May 4th the Netherlands commemorates victims of war; on May 5th the people celebrate the fact that they live in freedom. The National Committee helps determine how meaning is given to commemorating and celebrating the memory of the Second World War. The national observance of Remembrance Day in the…
An Editorial on the Introduction to Over de grens by Inez Hollander, Ph.D. Director Emeritus for The Indo Project and Author of Silence Voices/Verstilde stemmen en verzwegen levens I apologize to you, dear reader. I was going to read the recently published decolonization research anthology Over de grens: Nederlands extreme…
[Telegraaf article 2/17/2022 by Alexander Bakker – translated by Margaret Maugenest] Rutte: deep apologies to Indonesians for extreme and systematic violence BRUSSELS — In response to findings of the investigation into extreme violence being used by the Dutch against the Indonesians during the War for independence in Indonesia (1945-1949), Prime…
In the last few weeks, The Netherlands’ colonial closet was ripped wide open in a fight about who gets to determine what the former colonial power did and did not do in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). It started with the Revolusi exhibit in the Rijksmuseum about the Indonesian independence,…
The official opening of the exhibition Ons Land – decolonization, generations and stories, was February 8th, 2022. Representatives of The Indo Project were invited to take a sneak peek at the Sophiahof Museum in The Hague. ‘Ons Land’ is Dutch for Our Country. This exhibition is about Dutch colonial history…
We’ve all been there. Just go back in time and think of your elementary school antics. In the schoolyard someone lashes out and says But you’re a moron. The answer that may come back when there is no good answer: No, you’re a moron. And then there is always that…
The Back Story In light of the upcoming REVOLUSI exhibit at the Rijksmuseum which deals with the independence struggle of Indonesia, one of the Indonesian curators, Bonnie Triyana, publicly announced that the word “bersiap” should be (and was going to be) omitted from the exhibit. He argued that the term,…
A look back at The Indo Project’s top stories and news articles of 2021. Did your favorites TIP articles make the top five lists? Top Five Indo Stories #5 An Indo Profile: Hannie Blaauw – Camp Stories and More Read TIP’s Indo Profile about war camp survivor and musician Hannie…
Where Appearance Meets Identity by Willem-Jan Brederode Is it possible to have flaming red hair, freckles, fair skin but also an Indo-Dutch identity? Of course it is, you will think! Well, that is, if you fully understand both the genetics behind redheadedness and the genealogy of being Indo-Dutch. In 2020 …
by David Bebelaar Finding a Box of Letters Searching for information about my grandparents led me to a box of letters they had written to each other. The correspondence documented their lives as a young couple and all of the experiences they had to navigate together. Their relocation from the…
After nearly two years of absence, this year’s Holland Festival drew more people than expected. Due to the pandemic, the United Netherlands Organizations (non-profit organization) had to cancel the last two festivals. The community was ready and eager to come together again, looking at their responses on social media. And…
The Indo Project will be present at this year’s Holland Festival for the 10th time. Last year was TIP’s 10th anniversary, which was celebrated with a successful rebranding. You are invited to come check out TIP’s new booth, new merchandise, and fun activities. By Jeff Keasberry Once again, the Dutch…
The 31st Annual Holland Festival in Long Beach is scheduled to return on Sunday, September 5th, 2021. The last time the Dutch-American community had their annual cultural festival was in 2019. by Jeff Keasberry, August 2021. The year 2020 has been a hard year for many people and the pandemic…
August 15, 2021 was the 76th Anniversary of the end of the Japanese occupation in the Dutch East Indies. From California to the Netherlands, all of the victims from World War II were commemorated. 2021 Commemoration Day – In Remembrance, August 1945 In Los Angeles, Sandra van Lommel-Ly, on behalf…
August 15th is the annual commemoration of the end of WWII in the Pacific. The Indo community remembers all those who fell and suffered during the Japanese invasion and occupation of the former Dutch East Indies. Indo Monument in Los Angeles Cemetery 2020 was to be the year the Indo…
Are you on Instagram? Follow The Indo Project! Help TIP reach 1000 Instagram followers! The Indo Project on Instagram – Don’t Miss Out! Don’t miss out on many interesting and exclusive The Indo Project posts on Instagram. Help The Indo Project reach 1000 followers; currently it has 720 followers. If…
On his birthday, The Indo Project remembers and celebrates Indo legend René Creutzburg. With his monthly magazine ‘De Indo’, he helped define what it meant to be an Indo in the United States and connected Indos worldwide. Verenigd – United “Oom” René was a great supporter of The Indo Project…
by Saskia Rossi-van den Broek Marsini’s Gift – the Story of An Indo Family When Saskia Rossi left California in 2018 to return to Holland where she was born, she did not know that her life – she was already in her sixties – would take a staggering turn. First…
Read as The Indo Project unifies Indos separated in the its diaspora which relocated people to multiple continents. At The Indo Project (“TIP”) a significant part of our mission is rooted in celebrating Indo culture by unifying our people. One way TIP does this, is by using the reach of…
The Indo Project has a long history of standing for what’s right, and our support of the many organizations denouncing the recent violence against Asian Americans is no different. For us, this issue hits home in a personal way. Many of the people in our Indo community have their roots…
Louis Couperus was one of the few Dutch writers to become fairly widely known outside Holland. His great novel ‘The Hidden Force’, (‘De Stille Kracht’), which is set in the Dutch East Indies, has been translated into English and is available from Pushkin Press. The description on the inside jacket reads:…
We are happy to introduce our new team members. Read what motivated them to join. The Indo Project has ambitious goals. In order to grow and achieve our mission, we are continuously seeking contributors, who are proficient, share our passion and enthusiasm. Check link to see how you might be…
A look back at The Indo Project’s top stories and news articles of 2020. Did your favorites TIP articles make the top five lists? Top Five Indo Stories #5 An Indo Profile: The Ballad of Hendrik and Myra SoCal Indo Ronny Kakebeen pays tribute to his parents with his touching…
2020 marked The Indo Project’s official tenth anniversary with rebranding efforts which include revamped logo and new website amidst a tumultuous year which included a pandemic. The Indo Project Celebrates Tenth Anniversary 2020 marked The Indo Project’s official tenth year anniversary. The TIP team wishes it could have celebrated with…
The Indo Project reviews book Tetralogy by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, a series of historical novels about the former Dutch East Indies. The author describes life in the Dutch colony around the turn of the last century. Tetralogy – Pramoedya Ananta Toer A Book Review by Kareen Richard Schöller Tetralogy consists…
Sinterklaas or Sint-Nicolaas is a legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children. Other names for the figure include De Sint (“The Saint”), De Goede Sint (“The Good Saint”), and De Goedheiligman (“The Good Holy Man”) in Dutch. The feast of Sinterklaas celebrates the name day of Saint…
First Dutch Feature Film about World War 1 This movie tells the true story of Arthur Knaap, son of an Indo-European father and a Dutch mother. The family moves to Paris where his father, Otto Knaap, has a job as a correspondent for a Dutch newspaper. As the 1914 summer…
Introduction TIP INTRO to Creutzburg painting delivery to Vivian Boon, Editor-in-Chief – Moesson Magazine, an Indisch magazine published in The Netherlands Throughout so many years, back from the sixties, anyone visiting René Creutzburg’s home would see these two paintings created by Hado Benjamin on the wall of the famous Indo…
1945 – 2020 The 75th Commemoration (Part 2 of 2) Indië Herdenking at Noorderbegraafplaats Cemetery in Hilversum, The Netherlands By Priscilla Kluge McMullen – Co-Founder &Chair, The Indo Project As I mentioned in my previous article on the 15 August Herdenking held at De Dam, I cannot believe it has…
1945 – 2020 The 75th Commemoration (Part 1 of 2) Amsterdam, The Netherlands It is only 5 weeks ago but it seems so long ago that the elaborate 2020 Herdenkingen events planned in the Netherlands for this year’s momentous 75th Commemoration of the end of WWII in the former Dutch…
Eddie Van Halen, the legendary musician of Indo Dutch descent passed away on October 6th. He was 65. This news was announced by his son, Wolfgang: “I can’t believe I’m having to write this but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning,” he said on Twitter.…
With a clear majority (67%) of the votes, the logo design number 2 is the new logo for the online platform The Indo Project. It’s great that so many people felt involved with us and made their voices and opinions heard. Both logos had their own story and each matched…
The Indo Project has produced a very special video for this year’s 75th anniversary of V-J Day. As you may know, the Herdenking commemoration ceremonies in Los Angeles, San Francisco and the Netherlands will not be going forward in person due to the pandemic. The Indo Project wanted to make sure that we…
First Los Angeles Herdenking – 30th Anniversary August 15, 1990 – August 15, 2020 Message from the Comité 15 Augustus 1945: After thoughtful consideration of the restrictions and guidelines in place as a result of COVID-19, the Comité 15 Augustus 1945 is disappointed to announce that both the Commemoration Ceremony/Herdenking’s…
The Indo Project (TIP) turned 10 in 2019. We are celebrating this milestone with a makeover. OUR MISSION STATEMENT: The Indo Project is dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and celebration of Indo culture as well as its history through education, unification and raising public awareness. Yes, TIP will have a…
To sign up for our future newsletters: Click here Spread the word to family and friends. Click on the links below to see a specific newsletter: TIP SPRING NEWSLETTER 2020 TIP AUTUMN/WINTER NEWSLETTER 2019 TIP SPRING NEWSLETTER 2019 TIP WINTER NEWSLETTER 2018 TIP AUTUMN NEWSLETTER 2018 TIP SUMMER NEWSLETTER 2018 TIP…
article by Jamie D. Stern CLICK HERE: To check out our interactive Kid-Friendly presentation on Indo History! Children are witnessing history in action. They are smart and they are feeling how life has suddenly become very different. Around the world, we are sharing the COVID-19 experience. There is curiosity, deep…
Did you know AMAZON donates 0.5% of your purchases to a charitable organization of your choice? Please consider and take a moment to select The Indo Project as your charity and support us every time you shop! For more information, check out: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/27- 1241963 We love our followers and supporters!!! We have some exciting…
Speech: Inez Hollander, Photos: William Lee, January, 2020, San Francisco, CA, USA On January 13th, 2020, Antonie Heystek (sergeant in the Dutch East Indies Colonial Army and member of the militia in Eastern Java during WWII), received a posthumous Mobilization War Cross from Consul General Gerbert Kunst at the Dutch…
by Priscilla Klugen McMullen The Indo Project (TIP) held its 8th Indo Pride Kumpulan in Lake Mary, Florida (near Orlando) on November 2, 2019. It was a huge success with people coming from as far as Tennessee and Illinois. The film Sounds of Origin was shown followed by a buffet…
As this eventful 2019 year draws to a close, TIP realizes we have so much to be grateful for, especially as we celebrated our ten year anniversary in October. Transitioning to 2020, we greatly appreciate your consideration of an end-of-the-year donation to propel us into our next decade of honoring…
#Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving to non-profit groups like The Indo Project. Since its inaugural year in 2012, #GivingTuesday has become a movement that celebrates and supports giving and philanthropy. #GivingTuesday harnesses the potential of social media and the generosity of people around the world to bring…
The Sounds of Origins was a wonderful TIP event this year! Now, you can experience this wonderful documentary by Hetty in your own home, share with your family members and friends. The Indo Project’s TIPTalk Series presented Hetty Naaijkens’ newest documentary on the Indos who introduced rock ‘n roll to…
Submitted by Ingrid McCleary A touching ceremony, hosted by Henny Neys & Gijs Axt at the Oakmont Memorial Park in Lafayette, California, now in its seventh year started with uniformed honor guard led by Jesse Eijsbroek who flew in from Holland for this event. Jeff Campbell, played Danny Boy &…
On Saturday, August 10, 2019, The Indo Project board member, Eric Morgan, was honored to lay a wreath on behalf of The Indo Project at the annual commemoration ceremonies ‘Herdenking Ceremony,’ which was held at the National Cemetery of Los Angeles. Approximately fifty people came together out of respect for…
Jos Smit Celebration of Life, Saturday April 28th. This celebration of life event was held at the Avio, the long standing Dutch Social Club in Anaheim, CA. While it may not have been the ‘happiest place on earth’, it wasn’t a somber affair neither. People came to celebrate the man;…
Note: Click here to purchase the Sounds of Origin, limited supply! The USA Premiere of Klanken van Oorsprong – Sounds of Origin The Indo Project’s TIPTalk Series presents Hetty Naaijkens’ newest documentary on the Indos who introduced rock ‘n roll to the Netherlands. The film is an in-depth documentary on…
The Mobilisatie-Oorlogskruis, a medal awarded by the Netherlands for military service during World War II. THIS IS AN ANNOUNCEMENT FOR FAMILY MEMBERS OF K.N.I.L. SOLDIERS WHO DIED DURING WWII IN ASIA OR DURING THE BERSIAP PERIOD IN THE FORMER DUTCH EAST INDIES. THEY MIGHT QUALIFY FOR THE MOBILISATIE-OORLOGSKRUIS MEDAL…
REVISED ARTICLE NOTE: The following article was originally published on March 3, 2019. Due to many of the comments and questions, the author Paul Munsell has graciously revised the article. The article was revised and updated on TIP website on May 21, 2019. INTRODUCTION A short time ago, there were…
SAVE THE DATE!!! The Indo Project will be bringing the film Klanken Van Oorsprong – Sounds of our Origin, mentioned in this article from the Jakarta Post, to Southern California on June 15 and 16. Don’t miss it!! Very limited tickets available! Go to the full article and ticket information.…
Send The Indo Project Some Love We love our followers and supporters!!! We have some exciting upcoming events in 2019 and would appreciate some love in preparation. Please consider a Valentine donation today! Click here to be redirected to the Donation page and follow instructions. Thank you from The Indo…
By Dr Kathryn Pentecost, edited by Sierra Jacobs The series is based on PhD thesis (2013) entitled: Selamat Jalan, sampai jumpa lagi (Farewell, until we meet again): Transcultural family stories from colonial and postcolonial Indonesia Section One: INTRODUCTION We live our lives in the shadow of other people… Conversely, other…
Changing the date of Indonesia’s Date of Independence? An Act of Historical Negationism By Priscilla Kluge McMullen – October 2018 After reading yet another article penned by an academic in Amsterdam who advocates rolling back Indonesia’s date of independence, I thought it might be beneficial to know certain facts about…
By: Hans Vervoort Translated from Dutch by Willem ten Wolde “Homesickness is: knowing the way in a house that no longer exists,” is one of the most beautiful statements by writer Rudy Kousbroek (Pematang Siantar 1929 – Leiden 2010). Rudy undertook a nostalgic trip back to Sumatra in 1979 and later—with…
By Jamie Stern, Director of Research On September 22nd, 2018, SoCal Indo held a beautiful benefit party in an effort to raise funds for the victims of the Lombok Earthquake. A series of devastating earthquakes occurring between late July and mid-August resulted in hundreds of deaths and major structural damage…
It’s back to school time! We at The Indo Project (TIP) wish all our Indo kids a wonderful school year. To help bring Indo studies into the classroom, we’ve developed a presentation that can be used by students, teachers, and anyone who would like to share the history of the…
Most people commemorate the end of the Second World War in the Netherlands on May 4th and 5th May, but in fact the war only came to an end on 15 August. Then the Japanese domination of the Dutch East Indies stopped. Each year Dutch people with roots in the…
For the 29th time families and friends gathered at the annual Holland Festival in Long Beach. Up to 4 generations with roots in the Netherlands and the former Dutch East Indies celebrated their heritage while enjoying typical foods, music, arts and crafts. It has become de facto the largest Indo-Dutch…
I am standing here on behalf of my uncle Loet Hoogvelt and my aunt Loes Flohr- who, at 90 years of age, is not avoiding the courts to contest the Backpay settlement- I am standing here on behalf of my uncle George Huffenreuter and my aunt Tineke Flohr. She, who…
The following article first published in August 2017 details the funding of a “Dutch Indo Meeting Place” in The Hague, the Netherlands. Funds were also set aside for the annual Herdenkingsdag Commemoration on August 15 and a virtual Dutch Indo monument consisting of war stories including the names of victims.…
Dear Reader: We often hear about architecture and public works in the former Dutch East Indies that are not in existence anymore. This article points out the public works built during the colonial era of Indonesia which are still widely in use today! The countless irrigation works described in this…
Relatives of former KNIL soldiers and civil servants from the Dutch East Indies will not receive any overdue salaries from their parents, once deceased. The Central Board of Appeal confirmed an earlier court ruling. . During the v (1942-1945), 82,000 former soldiers and civil servants in the former Dutch colony received…
Please meet and welcome Josina Hillsland, our new TIP Liaison in the Netherlands who will keep us updated (among other things) about the Indische Kwestie and other matters related to the Indo community in the Netherlands: My name is Josina. I’m a second-generation Indo. I live in the heart of…
The Indo Project, Inc. is currently seeking a Website Content Manager for their website TheIndoProject.org and Social Media Pages. The Website Content Manager will be responsible for growing unique visitors to our key community-oriented site and social media pages and will work closely with the Web Editor-in-Chief and Newsletter Editor.…
The former Netherlands (Dutch) East Indies is present-day Indonesia. The Japanese military occupied the Dutch colony in 1942 during the Pacific War, then placed Dutch nationals in internment facilities and prisoner-of-war camps (90,000 civilians, 40,000 military personnel). Some officials of the Japanese military forcefully transferred Dutch women and women of mixed…
It was a warm Saturday afternoon, on October 7th, when more that 150 people came together at the American Legion in Azusa, for the 4th annual TipTalks: an educational seminar and social event sponsored by The Indo Project in cooperation with SoCal Indo social group. It was a good mix of 4-generations, varying from…
September 22nd, 2017. By Inez Hollander When statues in this country have become a point for debate with Civil War generals coming down, a new statue in the heart of San Francisco went up on September 22nd. Sadly, controversy swirled around this statue, too, even though it commemorated a completely…
On behalf on The Indo Project and the Dutch victims of the Second World War in the former Dutch East Indies, I’m deeply disturbed to read the Japanese Consul’s response this morning about the Comfort Women Memorial that will be unveiled in San Francisco today. To say that “that there…
The annual TIPTALKS – educational seminar, will be held on October 7th. Join this cultural event organized together with SoCalIndo. Tickets via Eventbrite https://theindoproject.eventbrite.com The Indo Project Cordially Invites You to the 4th Annual TIP TALKS event in cooperation with SOCAL INDO. Tickets via Eventbrite https://theindoproject.eventbrite.com The theme of…
MTM Nieuwenhuizen of the Sociale Verzekeringsbank notified us of the closing date of the Dutch Backpay Arrangement: “The Dutch Backpay Arrangement is intended for those who were alive on August 15th, 2015, and who served with the Dutch East Indies government as a civil servant or KNIL soldier prior to…
The annual commemoration ceremonies ‘herdenkingsceremonie,’ was held on Saturday, August 12th at the National Cemetery of Los Angeles. Around 50 people came together out of respect for the fallen forces and civilians, who lost their life in the former Dutch East Indies during the Japanese occupation and the bersiap period.…
For a new documentary series public broadcaster Omroep MAX in The Netherlands is looking for Dutch and Dutch-Indonesian families who left in the 50s for the USA. We are seeking personal stories, photos and videos of the first generation of Dutch and Dutch-Indonesian emigrants. Why did you leave the Netherlands?…
by Inez Hollander The Eurovision Song Contest can be a blessing and a curse… For the Netherlands, this has always been a mixed bag: Some years we’re required to sing in Dutch (which means we have a (much) bigger chance of losing as Dutch doesn’t sound as romantic or sexy…
The Indo Project Editorial Series Indische Kwestie- Part V By Inez Hollander Lake, Ph.D. In this fifth and final part of our editorial series on the Indische Kwestie, I would like to summarize what has happened with the Indische Kwestie in the last few decades. In the 1970s and the…
Younger generations in America are showing increased interest in their Indo-European heritage, by joining social media groups to connect online with likeminded people. New friendships are forged with those who share a similar background. A yearly reunion for friends and family A growing number of younger visitors are expected to…
By: Sierra Jacob Last month, I had the opportunity to attend the 4th annual Critical Mixed Race Studies conference at USC. While the label “mixed race” reaffirms the classification of race, critical mixed race studies simultaneously reaffirms and deconstructs it. CMRS resists categories and blurs socially constructed racial lines. Growing…
By Jack Profijt. What does the word heritage mean to you? Or if I asked, what does preserving our heritage mean to you? The reason I ask this question is because, as many of you know, I am the admin for the “Dutch-Indo Community” (formerly known as “Old Dutch Indonesian…
A Special Indo Project Editorial Series. By Inez Hollander, Ph.D.. While the first migrants/refugees from the Dutch East Indies came over after WWII had ended, the total number of people that came to the Netherlands between 1945 and 1980 was about 320,000. The cost of repatriation for the Dutch government…
By Peggy Lesquillier. KNIL sergeant 1st rank Arno Lesquillier, from the village Maarssen, was awarded the Mobilization-War Cross and the Medal for War and Peace yesterday (KNIL stands for the former Dutch Indo Army). This was awarded posthumously, because Lesquillier died on March 1, 1979. He died from complications of the atom bomb…
A Special Indo Project Editorial Series. by Inez Hollander, Ph.D. On Tuesday, February 28th, party leader Alexander Pechtold of the political party D’66, was a guest in a talkshow and referred to the migrants who came from Indonesia to the Netherlands in the 1950s and 1960s as “Indonesians”. Needless to say, he should…
By Eric Morgan John, speaking at the 2016 Herdenking Ceremony During the August 2016 Herdenking Ceremony held at the Los Angeles National Cemetery, longtime Southern California Indo John von Bargen was asked to give the Invocation, as well as give some words of remembrance. He spoke eloquently of how forgiveness…
A Special Indo Project Editorial Series Part II by Inez Hollander, Ph.D. When the Dutch East Indies were liberated after the dropping of the atomic bombs in 1945, The Netherlands tried to take back its colony and conduct business as usual, notwithstanding that Sukarno had declared the country independent on August 17th,…
A Special Indo Project Editorial Series Part I by Inez Hollander, Ph.D. On the Indische Kwestie, Back Pay and Human Rights Harry Francken, who became the main character of my book Silenced Voices (Athens: Ohio University Press, 2008), returned to the Netherlands in 1946 with his widowed mother. They had…
Old Dutch-Indonesian Community Facebook Group is now officially part of The Indo Project Online Network. The Old Dutch-Indonesian Community Facebook Group (8000+ members) has officially joined The Indo Project Online Network as of January 2017,. The Indo Project (TIP), co-founded by Priscilla McMullen, is an international non-profit organization based in…
On the Indische Kwestie, Back Pay and Human Rights Announcing: a special editorial series by Inez Hollander, Ph.D. Van oude mensen en de dingen die voorbijgaan (Of Old People and the Things that Pass) is a famous novel by Dutch author Louis Couperus, which deals with an Indies family, living a…
Recap from Jamie’s Seminar Presentation in the Netherlands In August 2016, I was nominated to attend a Migration Seminar in the Netherlands to present the research I’ve been compiling for The Indo Project. Our data collection has been in progress for the past six years. (To participate in our data…
special editorial by Inez Hollander, PhD The Indo Project was pleased to see that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was the first Japanese Prime Minister to visit and honor the victims of Pearl Harbor, which was a breakthrough and a motion for continued world peace, which we applaud and honor. It…
Backpay Scheme extended by a year On 24 December 2015, the State Secretary for Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) introduced the Backpay benefit scheme in consultation with the Indisch Platform. This scheme has recently been extended by a year. Applications can now be submitted to the Department for Members of…
The First of its Kind in the English Language by Inez Hollander OK. I am biased. When Los Angeles-based entrepreneur and food writer, Jeff Keasberry, asked me to proofread his Indo Dutch Kitchen Secrets manuscript, the first cookbook for Indo Dutch cuisine in English, I said yes and found myself quickly immersed in his…
By Eric Morgan This recipient of the “Order of Orange-Nassau” (in 2008, as recognition by the Dutch government for her service on behalf of its people), does not need much of an introduction to the readers of The Indo Project (or “TIP”). Though she is Dutch-born from Dutch parents, Henny Neys, inspired by…
Sign up up for our first TIP TALKS in North California. We will be talking about our shared culinary heritage – the food that binds us together! In a true Indo fashion we never stop talking about food. Indo food is at the heart of our community. We make recommendations…
The Never Before Told Story Of A Forgotten Period After WWII And A Gruesome Discovery In The Mountains Of Java. By Hans Vervoort. The War Cemetery, Kembang Kuning, in Surabaya is impressive. Thousands of white crosses for World War II victims stand in neat long rows and if you walk…
By Linda Kimbrough Garuda is a mythical bird-like creature adopted from Hinduism and Buddhism ideology as Indonesia’s national emblem called Garuda Pancasila. Soekarno’s mother was from Bali, a province in Indonesia where the largest Hindu followers is concentrated. Looking at the Then and Now photograph of Jakarta, one could only notice…
By Linda Kimbrough Happy news from Heddy Emanuel of Anaheim, CA. Last month, her son Colonel Frank D. Emanuel was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. A luncheon to celebrate this promotion was held at the Sacramento Military Department, Sacramento, CA on Friday April 1, 2016. Both of Frank’s parents…
More than 2,000 people came together to celebrate their heritage at the 27th Holland Festival, held at Gemmrig Park, in Long Beach. For many of the attendees (around 70% with roots in the former Dutch East Indies), it is a yearly reunion with family and friends where they enjoy typical…
RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY! Suggested minimum donation: $15.00 per person Includes free parking, entry, discussion & sweet & savory samples with refreshments will be served after the presentations and Q and A session. Pay by credit card or PayPal at https://www.theindoproject.org/donate How Indo Heritage & Identity Is Preserved. On Monday,…
An editorial by Inez Hollander, PhD On the different social media platforms, discussions regarding the visits by Kerry and Obama to Hiroshima became emotional and contentious. While the visits have been planned carefully with the caveat that neither Kerry nor Obama would offer an apology, I have been bothered by…
By Phyllis Kim. Last night, San Francisco Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution, supporting recent curriculum revision proposed by California Department of Education’s Instructional Quality Commission. California Department of Education will consider this revision on May 11 and 12. During the public comment period of January and February of this…
by Inez Hollander Lake As an official partner of the Comfort Women Justice Coalition, Linda Kimbrough and Inez Hollander Lake of The Indo Project attended a dinner in Chinatown in San Francisco on March 28. The international coalition was honoring the former comfort woman survivor and Korean activist grandma Lee…
The Indo Project (www.theindoproject.org), an international non-profit organization and the #1 portal for the Indo Dutch community worldwide, invites eligible candidates to apply for The Indo Project Research Fellowship to promote and publish original research covering any aspect of the Indo Dutch community, its art, history, literature and/or culture. Interested candidates who…
By Inez Hollander. In 2008, I published Silenced Voices with Ohio University Press– the book was a so-called family memoir about the hidden force of the Dutch East Indies in my mother’s family: more than three generations of her family had resided in the Indies, where they had had several plantations, yet…
By Willem ten Wolde I was researching books written in English about the Japanese prison or internment camps in the former Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia, when I found Annelex Hofstra Layson’s autobiography Lost Childhood: My Life in a Japanese Prison Camp During World War II. I was intrigued because…
AFTER MORE THAN 70 YEARS, The Dutch Government is finally starting to distribute back-pay owed to Civil Servants and Soldiers who served during WWII in the former Dutch East Indies! Translation by Priscilla McMullen of article: “Staat keert eerste geld uit aan Indische ambtenaren en militairen” in NOS.NL by Robert Bas.…
by Inez Hollander. Elizabeth Pisani, author of another great book on Indonesia that recently came out, gives us some staggering statistics on Indonesia: not only is it the home “to one in every thirty of the people on this planet,” Indonesia is also the 4th most populous country in the world. In addition, though…
While Japan has received considerable and positive media attention with the latest agreement between Japan and South Korea, with regard to the compensation of the last surviving Korean sex slaves of the Japanese Imperial Army, this is, like the recent gesture of the Dutch government with regard to the last…
The Hague, December 10th, 2015 – By Inez Hollander Lake. Today, on December 10th, 2015, there was a General Meeting between Secretary van Rijn and Members of the Tweede Kamer to discuss questions regarding the backpay of 1,100 remaining survivors who, as soldiers or civil servants, served in the Dutch East Indies during the war.…
By Jeff Keasberry. December 1st, 2015 is a historic day, as the traditional Indische* rijsttafel (a culinary icon of the Indische culture, with roots in the former Dutch East Indies), has been added to the National Inventory Cultural Heritage in the Netherlands. By finally acquiring the acknowledgement it deserves as part…
By Humphrey de la Croix – Indischhistorisch.nl The loss of the Indies after handing over sovereignty to Soekarno’s, Indonesia in 1949, must have affected Dutch political leadership, business, and veterans to such a degree that two generations of historians and political scientists considered the postcolonial era as a ‘no-go area’.…
Dear Friends, Most of us who have our roots in the former Dutch East Indies recognize the importance of keeping our history and culture alive. A constant reminder of this are the letters and emails you send us and the old photos and passionate postings you place on Facebook. All…
We are happy to report that because of YOUR interest and support, The Indo Project was able to accomplish much this past year! The organization is truly becoming the portal for Indo history and culture worldwide, especially representing Indos outside of the Netherlands. This is reflected in: The growing number…
Translation of article by Kareen Richard, first published in Dutch newspaper, de Volksrant by Gijs Herderschef – November 3, 2015 Seventy years after the end of World War II, the Netherlands will redeem its debt of honor to former civil servants, with regard to payment of overdue salaries owed civil servants…
By Kareen Richard. Recently I attended a lecture by Pieter Kohnstam about the Holocaust. Pieter is a German Jew who was born in Amsterdam because his parents had to suddenly flee Germany on some trumped-up charges by the Nazis. In Amsterdam, the family lived on the Merwedeplein, a few doors…
By Susannah Palk First Published in The Underground The Hague, Edition#4 May/June 2015 Smiling seductively as she winks playfully at the camera, the fresh-faced image of Dido Van Soest betrays little of the audacious woman underneath – the young, charismatic model turned resistance fighter, whose life would ultimately end in…
BY ANDREA PARIJS I am a 3rd generation Indo currently residing in Southern California. Born and raised on a remote farm in Hawaii to an Indo-Chinese mother and American father, and only ever knowing two other Indo families, grew up always questioning any claim of my own to a culture. Then, after…
by Inez Hollander Lake. When former Korean comfort woman grandma Lee made the trek to San Francisco in a special hearing on building a comfort women memorial in San Francisco, and she had the grace and courage to tell her story, which was an effort at peace and progress as…
We are happy to announce that we have launched our new ‘responsive website’ today, Sunday August 30, 2015. What do the changes entail?: 1) responsive website meaning; our website provides an optimal viewing experience — ease of reading and navigation with a minimum of re-sizing, panning, and scrolling — across…
We need your help! What is YOUR favorite book that captures the Indo experience? We have all been there—our Indo Dutch and Indies Dutch culture is strong, but some of it we cannot share with our children and/or grandchildren because it is… in Dutch! The Indo Project is well aware…
By Inez Hollander Lake. Aug 20, 2015 — Dutch Prime Minister Continues to Ignore the Dutch East Indies Community. After 70 Years of Empty Promises the International Dutch East Indies Community is Waiting for Action from the Dutch Government. August 20th, 2015, Boston, USA – Thousands of Indos in the US…
By Joty ter Kulve. Today’s enemies will be tomorrow’s friends—however unimaginable it might seem. I certainly did not think this when the doors of our concentration camp in Jakarta were thrown open in August 1945. I had just survived the horrors of imprisonment and was full of negative feelings towards the…
On Saturday August 15th the Commemoration Ceremony in Los Angeles was opened by Sandra van Lommel Ly – Master of Ceremony. Followed by the invocation by Father Edwin Duyshart. Auke Mensink, President of the Committee 15 augustus 1945, gave a word of welcome, thanking the different organizations present. The Director…
3,322 Dutch POW’s worked as slaves in the Mitsubishi mines and shipyards. Published in TROUW newspaper, July 25, 2015. By Griselda Molemans Now that the Japanese company Mitsubishi Materials has offered an apology to all US prisoners of war who had to work as slaves in Japan during World War…
The following speech is by Jesse Eijsbroek, given at the commemoration ceremony in San Francisco on August 2nd, 2015: In June of 1942, the Japanese Empire launched an ambitious military logistics project to connect the existing railways between Bangkok, Thailand and Rangoon, Burma. The line was considered difficult—navigating through hilly…
By Inez Hollander, Ph.D. With the commemoration of the 70th year anniversary of the ending of WWII in Asia, it’s time to look back and look forward, and make sure we share the commemoration of this important year with the next generations to make sure our Indo Dutch legacy doesn’t become…
by Inez Hollander This week we received an e-mail from Mindy Kotler at the Asia Policy Point in Washington DC, concerning Japan’s continued historical revisionism with regard to slave labor by POWs at Japan’s foremost industrial sites. The Indo Project is joining a number of POW-organizations in writing a letter…
By Jamie Stern On Tuesday evening, May 26th, 2015, the Crystal Cove auditorium at UC Irvine filled with guests eager to visit with each other and enjoy the evening’s presentations. This was a very special event, because The Indo Project (TIP) was holding its Second Annual Lecture Series, titled, An…
Join us for the 2nd annual event by The Indo Project at the University of California Irvine. Based on his best-selling memoir, The Railway Man tells the extraordinary and epic true story of Eric Lomax, a British Army officer who is tormented as a prisoner of war at a Japanese…
A Book Review of Op klompen door de dessa by Hylke Speerstra (Amsterdam: Atlas, 2015) When growing up in The Netherlands, I never realized that part of my family history ran parallel with the rise and demise of the Dutch East Indies. I explored the colonial part of that history…
Share this news about the Burma-Thailand Railway Compensation. Are you a descendant of the men who worked on the railway line or died on the way there? Please check the name lists and if you see your father’s or grandfather’s name, write to Task Force Indische Rechtsherstel at tfirsecretariaat@ziggo.nl These are…
Tuesday, May 5, 2015 By Jamie Stern The Indo community is making great progress in geographically mapping our population! So far, through The Worldwide Indo Challenge , The Indo Project has heard from 728 Indos. Check out our interactive map to see where Indo populations are being located. Each point…
The following was received from Ms. Jan Thompson, President of the American Defenders of Bataan & Corregidor Memorial Society and was addressed to the Congressional Veterans’ Affairs Committees. The contents apply not only to American POW’s but also to those Indos, Dutch and others in the former Dutch East Indies…
Strength—Bravery—Loyalty—Love—Family—You are an Indo. Are you ready for the Challenge? We’re on a mission to map our dynamic worldwide Indo community. Take the challenge…stand up and be counted! The Indo Project has set out to show the world that our culture and history is dynamic, interesting and relevant. Who we…
© 2015, Inez Hollander, Ph.D. Er ligt een roofstaat aan de zee tussen Oostfriesland en de Schelde! There is a pirate state, bordering the sea, between the Scheldt and Eastern Friesland ~ Multatuli, Max Havelaar Book Review Opgevangen…
Jan 10, 2015 — This is a special message for the readers who have not signed our petition yet… This week I received a powerful e-mail from a survivor who allowed me to quote him here (be forewarned, this is graphic): “When father had already been rounded up by the Japanese,…
The annual Wapenbroeders Christmas ball was held once again at the Swiss Park in Whittier. After the welcome speech of the President. Eleonore Bosman, the guest of honor Ard van der Vorst, the newly appointed Deputy Consul General of the Netherlands,
See the movie trailer: Click here Please find our petition here Update…
The Indo Project Team thanks you for your support during an incredible year of growth. Most of us who have our roots in the former Dutch East Indies recognize the importance of keeping our history and culture alive. A constant reminder of this are the letters and emails you send…
By Jeff Keasberry As of this month we are adding a new category to our TIP site: Food. Eating and cooking are at the core of our culture and talking about it equally so. The objective is not to create another recipe box per se, as there are plenty of…
by Jamie Stern Here at The Indo Project we’re busy working on the next phase of our groundbreaking research–mapping today’s Indo population. We have a brand new challenge for the Indo community. We’re aiming to map the worldwide Indo population. All information shared with TIP is 100% safe, anonymous, and…
Photo by Andrea Gruber Matthies This very passionate, heart-rending poem was written by Mrs. G. Stern-Dossin (December 6, 1918 – February 24, 2005). We don’t know when and where it was first published but it re-appeared in the original Dutch version on the Indisch4Ever site in 2011. What…
By Jamie Stern Photo: Jamie as a toddler with her Mother, Oma, Opa and Tante – 1989. Congratulations to all the new grandparents this year and to all the grandparents who received more grandbabies! The Indo Project’s very own newsletter editor, Ingrid McCleary, is celebrating her new grandson, Baby Ben.…
By Sierra Jacob. What of the children? Once resting swollen in our wombs, the weight we carried between the yawning of our hips. Tasting the salt air like we did, pushed up against the hunched horizon in liberation ships to Holland—to Australia—to the United States. How we thought we could…
By Jesse Eijsbroek On August 3rd, 2014, a Herdenking Ceremony will be held in the Bay Area at Oakmont Memorial Park in Lafayette, California. At the ceremony, we honor the sacrifices made by civilians and the military during the Japanese occupation in the Dutch East Indies and elsewhere under the…
The annual memorial was held in Los Angeles on August 9, 2014. On this day we remembered and honored the fallen of the Dutch East Indies forces and civilians (men, women and children) during the Japanese occupation during WWII in South East Asia and during the bersiap period. Welcoming word…
By Kathryn Pentecost Fig.1: Dutch architecture, Yogyakarta 2011 (Collection: The author) The Dutch were certainly not the first Europeans to trade in the archipelago; English and Portuguese traders were also keen to exploit the natural resources of the archipelago. The Dutch, however, created the first multinational trading empire with the…
The screening of the documentary De Buitenkampers: The Color of Survival will take place on Tuesday, MAY 27th at the University of California Irvine (UCI). To order & print your tickets, please go to this link. For directions to the Student Center, UCI, please click on the this link. To…
By Lidy Nicolase – March 18, 2014. Translation of Article in the Volkskran.nl The Netherlands government still owes millions of euros to 380,000 Dutch people who had to flee Indonesia between 1950 and 1970. Banks, as well as insurance companies, also have enormous debts to redeem. A substantial part of…
By Jamie Stern Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Let’s all celebrate with the Irish! Interestingly, among our TIP supporters we have discovered at least 30 of our constituents are Irish and Indo mixes. And it’s likely that we have plenty more out there! Meanwhile, the rest of us can make-believe that…
by Jamie Stern Love is universal—but we already know that! This isn’t something new—it’s been around for a very long time. We know that love enriches lives. We know that love sometimes complicates lives! And still we gravitate toward love because it makes life more fun, more interesting, more comforting…
By Kathryn Pentecost Indonesia is known as the world’s most populace Muslim nation and its cultural history is richly diverse. Throughout their history, Indonesians have been influenced by a diversity of religious and cultural influences, (though some commentators today fear that the country is becoming a less tolerant place) (Vltchek,…
Read this formerly secret document from the CIA… READ ABOUT IT IN OUR FALL/WINTER 2013 NEWSLETTER. To sign up for our future newsletters: Click here Check out our recently published newsletters. It may take about 10-15 seconds to load the pdf. TIP FALL/WINTER 2013 NEWSLETTER TIP SUMMER 2013 NEWSLETTER TIP…
Last December Dutch Postal Service (PostNL) research showed 90% of Dutch households send an average of 40 cards 6 December 2012 – The Hague – Sending Christmas cards is an old tradition and undeniably contributes to the spirit of Christmas and New Year. PostNL compared the traditions surrounding the sending…
By Inez Hollander, Ph.D When Fré Francken and the other evacuees mounted the flatbed truck in the Gubeng neighborhood of Surabaya, she had only one thing on her mind; return to the Netherlands as fast as possible, away from years of starvation in the Japanese internment camps and sadly, away…
The new book ‘Welcomed by the smell of endive’ by Dutch journalist Griselda Molemans (due on March 21, 2014) highlights the true story of how the group of 380,000 displaced persons from the former Dutch Indies (present-day Indonesia) were received in The Netherlands. Between 1950 and 1970, these Dutch citizens…
By Kathryn Pentecost Introduction In this series of monthly essays, I hope to help the readers understand the great complexity that is the story of the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. I write as both an ‘insider’ (an Indo) and an ‘outsider’ (an Australian). Having just completed my PhD on…
Under this heading I submitted a rather extended essay to MOESSON in the Netherlands. It was published in the December 1985 and January 1986 edition and I received several inquiries from the public at that time. This is a short summary of that article. Kumis kucing, remoedjoeng, cat’s whiskers or…
Response by William H. Frederick on Indisch4ever.nu on November 21, 2013: I am afraid things have gotten rather out of hand, with people interpreting my original article in their own way (perhaps without having read it), and misquoting me. For example, I don’t think I said anywhere, and certainly never…
RIJSWIJK, THE NETHERLANDS – The wave of ethnic violence in the Dutch East Indies that started in 1945, has been regretfully relegated to the background by the Netherlands. The murder of thousands of (Indies) Dutch during the Bersiap period, has always been tentatively accepted, “while it can best be defined…
Who will win the Golden Rice Bowl 2013? Dutch-Indonesian cooking is very much alive and ready for the 21st century. For the first time a Dutch-Indonesian cooking competition will be held in the Netherlands. This event is initiated and organized by the online magazine Indisch 3.0. I have the honor…
By Margaret Laurens – October 30, 2013. The 5th Annual Indo Heritage Festival took place on a beautiful sunny late-summer day in The Gazebo in Haverstraw NY on September 7th 2013. The annual event brought together about 100 attendees Indos, and family and friends of Indos, from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut…
By Jamie D. Stern, Director of Research The Indo Project is dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and celebration of Indo culture and history through education and raising public awareness. We present information that allows the world to see that we are an identifiable people, despite our world-wide dispersion due to…
Farewell to the Indies (translation of Weg uit Indië, published in 2012 in the Netherlands) tells about the adventures of two ten-year-old children during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies in World War 2 and the ‘bersiap’ period that followed. It is written for all ages from ten…
Conducted by Videographer Ben von Stockhausen Sign Up For a Free One-Day Workshop INTRODUCTION The collection of personal stories from the elders in our community is one of the main initiatives of The Indo Project. Personal historical diaries bring Indo History to life. We encourage Indo families to…
The following is purported to be the only written testimony about the Bersiap that has been discovered thus far. It is noted as a source in the English Wikipedia about the Bersiap. Who will now help our own refugees? Translated from an article in De Haagsche Post published on 4…
Although the end of Japan’s WWII occupation of the former Dutch East Indies is celebrated on August 15th (V-J Day), it was on September 2, 1945, more than two weeks later, when the official ceremony of Japan’s unconditional surrender to the Allied Forces was held on the United States Navy battleship USS Missouri.…
On April 27, 2013, The Indo Project held its third Florida Kumpulan. In excess of 100 people attended. Needless to say, there was lots of good food, music, dancing and getting re-acquainted with old friends. Drawing prizes included spekkoek, Bols jenever and several baskets filled with Dutch and Indo goodies,…
Willem Nijholt’s childhood, like Ilse Evelijn Veere Smit’s, was cut short when the Japanese invaded his homeland, the DutchEast Indies. Like Ilse, he survived the war years in a concentration camp and the revolution that came after. Like Ilse, he repatriated to the Netherlands and built a new life. But Willem never…
The Netherlands was liberated on May 5th, 1945. On that date, however, there was no liberation of the Dutch East Indies, a former colony of The Netherlands. The Japanese continued to occupy the Dutch East Indies, as well as other parts of Asia, for months, after the liberation of Europe. …
This year’s annual memorial ceremony was presented once again by the ‘Comité 15 augustus 1945′ under the auspices of the Nederlandse Veteranen Vereniging Wapenbroeders USA. Last Saturday, August 10, 2013, a group of about 50 people came together at the Los Angeles National Cemetery. The President, Mr. Auke Mensink, welcomed the attendees…
The following blog is a difficult one to read. For the author, Ingrid Keizer Wilson, it proved to be an emotional roller coaster where horror, both real and imagined, joined forces in her mind. Read all about it in our Summer Newsletter 2013. Sign up and tell your friends and family…
Author: Kathryn Pentecost © 2013 The following is a story about my great-aunt Doddy. Was she named after Louis Couperus’s Doddy in his famous novel, De Stille Kracht (The Hidden Force), I ask myself? If not, then there are still many parallels about her and the novel’s character, who…
SPECIAL SPECIAL – READ ALL ABOUT IT! Once you sign up for the quarterly Indo Project Newsletter, you will get exclusive news items and informative pieces on different kinds of subject delivered directly to your inbox. Not published on our website for two weeks; you get to read it first.…
Second article chronicling The Indo Project Board Member Emeritus Jan Krancher as he takes a sentimental journey back to his birth land Indonesia. By Jan Krancher, 24 June 2013. After this nostalgic visit, we took a quick drive-by in town to the former residence of Harry Klaare, one of Oma…
Travel with The Indo Project Board Member Emeritus as he takes a sentimental journey back to his birth land Indonesia, part one of two. By Jan A. Krancher – June 17, 2013 Since my emigration to the United States in the early 1960s, I always have had the urge to…
For those of you not in the know, the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam and the Royal Tropical Institute house a plethora of displays and information about the former Dutch East Indies. This has everything to do with our heritage as Indo’s. The fact that the Dutch government has announced severe budget…
By Kathryn Pentecost ©2013 ‘Communities can be distinguished, not by their falsity/genuineness, but by the style in which they are imagined’. (Benedict Anderson, 1991:6) On 17 August 1945, after over three hundred years of Dutch colonial rule, (and several years of the British interregnum 1811-1816), Indonesia was proclaimed ‘merdeka’ (independent)…
By Inez Hollander – June 3, 2013. My mother strongly advised against it. Everyone in my family knew that her cousin, Harry, had seen horrors during the war in the Dutch East Indies that neither he nor his mother, ever talked about it in private or public. As a family,…
An attempt to find the rightful owners of 335 photo albums from former Dutch East Indies, has resulted in 9 families getting their albums back. Check the following website in Dutch: http://www.fotozoektfamilie.nl We translated the first part: Your help is needed in our search for the rightful owners of the…
Read more about the Linggajati Agreement in our latest Newsletter: To sign up for our future newsletters: Click here Check out our previously published newsletters. It may take about 10-15 seconds to load the pdf. TIP WINTER JAN 2014 NEWSLETTER TIP SUMMER 2013 NEWSLETTER TIP SPRING 2013 NEWSLETTER TIP…
By Margaret Laurens Dutch filmmakers Hetty Naaijkens Retel Helmrich and Leonard Retel Helmrich were in New York at the TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL, April 18,2013 to attend the World Premiere of their first collaborative directorial effort, “RAW HERRING” (or as it is called under its Dutch title, “NIEUWE HARING”). The film…
Queens Day (Koninginnedag in Dutch) is the most beloved and anticipated national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It’s celebrated on April 30 to commemorate the birthday of the country’s (former) Queen and a symbol of national unity. The entire country has festivities and in Amsterdam in particular, the…
By Walter Ben von Stockhausen, April 2013 In the period of 1957-1958, a major migration of Dutch Indonesians from Indonesia to the Netherlands took place. The major cause for this was the worsening political climate for the Dutch and Dutch Indonesians living in Indonesia primarily orchestrated by the first president…
The Battle of the Java Sea—The Fall of the Netherlands East Indies, February 27, 1942 By Margaret Laurens …
By Louise Rouwhof-Krancher. Jan 12, 2013. I was encouraged by my brother Jan A. Krancher who lives in the US, to commit some of my Indies memoires to paper. He is an author in his own right and has compiled and edited 24 stories in 1996 in a book on…
By Jan A. Krancher, PhD. Jan. 8, 2013 Have you ever been conned? I am sure you have, at least once in your lifetime, as I have, and I won’t tell you how often. But here I am not referring to being “conned” but rather being “coined.” It is the…
Please Join & Sign the Petition: You’ve probably heard about the petition or seen it surface on Facebook urging you to sign it. No matter where you are in the world, if you are a Dutch-Indonesian, Dutch, or a person who has roots in the former Dutch East Indies, we need you…
We want to wish the Indo community a wonderful New Year! Our 2013 New Year’s wish is that together: 1. we continue to uphold and honor the legacy of our parents and grandparents by actively keeping Indo culture and history alive through education and raising awareness. 2. we show the world…
Ingrid’s parents, Gerard and Netty and her older brothers, Erik and Ferry I would like to share an article submitted by my friend, Ingrid Keizer Wilson, who has begun the journey of learning more about her Indo roots. Born in Kansas, where her parents ended up after repatriation to…
Photo by Thinkstock BY JAN CHO It’s a spice whose aroma evokes warm memories of the holidays for many — baked into pumpkin pies, kneaded into sausages and sprinkled atop mugs of eggnog. It has a pungent, earthy and slightly sweet taste, making it versatile for use in a…
By Kareen Richard The “Glodok Affair” is a little known chapter in the events that occurred during World War II in the Dutch East Indies. In mid-1944, a man named Piet Hein van den Eeckhout was released from the Japanese Civilian camp in Tjimahi because he vocalized his pro-Japanese feelings. …
Indo profile by Jeff Keasberry “We weren’t alone. There were many more like us, and knowing this brought about a sudden comfort that filled a void from all these years of confusion and isolation,” said Jamie Stern, 3rd generation Indo, when she came to find out that there’s a name for her…
We are excited to report that on Saturday, November 10, 2012 over 125 people of Dutch Indonesian descent (Indos) gathered for a Kumpulan (gathering) in Spring Hill, Florida. The event was organized by The Indo Project and was the second one held this year at the same location. Although most…
Great-great-great grandfather Johan Daniel Gottfried Schmidgall was born in 1750 in Plattenhardt, Wuerttemberg, Germany. He was a volunteer in the Army of the Duke. The middle of the 18th century, the Dutch India Company (VOC) still owned large possessions in “the East.” Since it was a not a governmental enterprise…
If you were born and raised in the USA and your grandparents left the former Netherlands East Indies as adults, then you are probably 3rd generation Indo. If so, then this event is for you. The event theme of INDO USA GEN 3 is: REAWAKEN (the Indo within), RECONNECT (with…
The first celebration of our Dutch Indonesian Culture and Heritage drew an attendance of more than 125 people and was so much fun that it was decided to have another one. Indos living in Florida will come together on November 10, 2012. The event will be held at: the Suncoast…
THE HAGUE, Netherlands–Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, claimed victory for his conservative VVD party in the Netherland’s national elections on September 12, 2012. Although Rutte himself was born in Den Haag in 1967 and not an Indo, what makes him especially interesting are his family ties to the former Dutch…
Rising from the Shadow of the Sun, A Story of Love, Survival and Joy brings the horror and losses of World War II on Java off the battlefields and military POW camps and into the world of Ronny Herman, who is barely three years old in 1942 when the Japanese conquer the island of…
Special call to emigrants from the former Dutch-Indies who departed to the US under provisions of the Pastore-Walter Act (1958-1962) In May 2013, “Opgevangen in andijvielucht,” the new book by journalist Griselda Molemans, will be published on the reception of approximately 350,000 refugees from the former Dutch East Indies in…
The end of WWII came to the Netherlands on 5 May 1945. This was not the case for their former colony, the Netherlands East Indies. While most of Europe was celebrating the end of German occupation, the war in Asia raged on until the atom bombs were dropped on Hiroshima…
This years’ annual memorial ceremonies presented by the ‘Comité 15 augustus 1945’ was held on Saturday August 11, 2012 at the Los Angeles National Cemetery. The President Mr. Auke Mensink welcomed the attendees gathered to commemorate those Dutch service men and women and citizens that lost their lives during WWII in…
Read as an Indo refugee treasures prized possessions from Indonesia as her family repatriates to the Netherlands and then eventually immigrated to the USA. Like many other Dutch-Indonesian refugees, our family took only a few meager possessions with us when we made the journey across the Atlantic from Holland to…
Tamara Fielding was recently featured in an article in the Jakarta Globe, titled ‘Taking Wayang to the World Stage. You can find the article here: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/arts/taking-wayang-to-the-world-stage/524694. Tamara will be going to the Indo Heritage Fest August 11, 2012.
When the Dutch government eventually granted independence to their former colony, the Dutch (Netherland) East Indies in 1949, a large community of some 200,000 Indos were forced to find a new homeland. They were the offspring (descendants) of former Dutch and other European settlers, who often intermarried with women of…
A recent article in “De Java Post” about Oom Bert Simon, started me thinking. Oom Bert was one of eight children; I don’t remember if he was the 3rd or 4th child. He was very popular with the Indo/Indonesian community in Holland, as he was Station Manger for Garuda Indonesian…
The Indisch (Indo) Cultural Center in collaboration with the Indisch (Indo) Platform calls on Dutch Indonesian (Indo) people to sign a new petition about the so-called “Indo Issue” relating to WWII compensation. 67 years after the Japanese capitulation, the Dutch Government still refuses to compensate Indos for the damage they have…
Yo Indo! Get the button. Either at our booth at the 23rd Holland Festival on Sunday, May 27th or by mail-order. Make a Donation, Pin it, and wear it with Pride!
Welcome to our new website. May 2012 is the month of new and exiting things for The Indo Project. We launch our new website and some board members will get to meet the Indo Community at the Holland Festival in Long Beach May 27, 2012. We continuously evolve to better…
The account of one East Dutch Indies family’s survival during World War II and the Indonesian Revolution is the subject of this edition of Dialogue. Joan Cartan-Hansen interviews sisters Ilse Evelijn Veere Smit and Edith Evelijn Veere, who survived the two atrocities, as well as author Dorothy Read, who helps…
Once again the Dutch and Indo community of greater Los Angeles are coming together to celebrate their shared cultural heritage. The Holland Festival in Long Beach has become an annual reunion for many families, who bring their blankets and picnic folding chairs to sit on the lawn. Different vendors selling…
May 8th, 2012 Ethnographic Research on The Indo Diaspora Hello Indo community and supporters! This is Jamie Stern, and a lot has happened in the year-and-a-half since you kindly responded to my first survey. To those who are unfamiliar with the first survey, you may view the results here: Dutch-Indonesian…
This is a heads up on the launch of our new website. The Indo Project will officially launch its site on May 25, 2012.
By Jason A. Dixon, grandson Name: Richard E. Coert Born: October 5, 1922, Dutch East Indies Died: October 17, 2003, California, USA POW: Burma-Siam Railway Richard E. Coert was born in 1922 in what is now Indonesia, where he grew up. He dreamed of becoming a…
By Maja S. Mortensen Nanning Life Changing Moments in America Keeshonden (The national dog of the Netherlands) are part of our family. A Korean veterinarian who completed his internship in the Netherlands opened a practice in town. His experience and medical knowledge made us loyal clients. During the 14-year span…
By Jan Krancher Book: Ambushed under the Southern Cross Author: Capt. George W. Duffy Highly decorated Capt. George W. Duffy has authored the book “Ambushed under the Southern Cross . . . The Making of an American Merchant Marine Officer and His Ensuing Saga of Courage and Survival”. Among several…
This is a remarkable web site called Pacific War Animated. How did the war end up in the Dutch East Indies ? With dramatic music in the background, you can follow the progression of invading Japanese forces (link below). At the bottom is a red arrow pointing to each…
By Bianca Dias-Halpert USS Wichita (CA-45) Ship’s Chief Petty Officers listen to the radio broadcast of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s address to the Congress requesting a declaration of War against the Axis powers, circa 8 December 1941. Note phograph of President Roosevelt on the bulkhead. The Good and the Bad…
By Bianca Dias-Halpert, Washington, USA An article appeared in the magazine NOW! Bali August 2010 about a Dutch lady who has lived in Indonesia her entire life. They were kind enough to let me share their findings with you readers. Milly On the outside she looks Dutch but on the…
By Joyce Kater, New Mexico, USA LITTLE MOMENTS OF HUMANITY AT WARTIME Although this incident happened a lifetime ago in the Second World War in South East Asia, it still lingers in my memory. It took place in the months before our family was torn apart and put in different…
By Priscilla McMullen The Indo Project logo is a representation of the Indonesian Arjuna Wayang Kulit. The image is placed within Delft frame, representing the Indo connection to the Dutch, and turned to face to the East, the direction of Indonesia. Permission to use the original design of The Indo…
By Bianca Dias-Halpert, Washington, USA The Power of a Grocery Store A new environment, new food, new customs and everything familiar left behind. We usually do not think of a grocery store as being significant in our daily routine. But when you find one that has the ingredients of the…
As told by Robin Kalhorn, Texas, USA Date: Circa 1938. Place: Java (most likely Surabaya, perhaps Malang). Event: John Kiliaan and His Band promotional appearance at a Studebaker dealership. Band leader Kiliaan is the man with the saxophone, resting his foot on the base drum. Editor’s Note: Robin Kalhorn has…
As told by Carol Ann Von Kristeinberg, Mallorca, Spain This photo was taken in Djakarta at the Jl. Gunung Sahari, our home, around 1951. I was 3 years old and my sister was 4. I was born in Djatinegara, my sister in Djakarta, my mother in Makassar and my Dad…
As told by Friedje van Gils of New Mexico, USA In the late 1950’s the Van Gils family arrived in the USA starting off in Akron, Ohio and eventually spreading out all over the country. They arrived with a group of friends and family. There was a “Dutch Club…
As told by Carol Norwood of Pennsylvania, USA The photo from the home page slideshow is of Carol Norwood’s mother named Cita at the age of 2 in January of 1930. They were walking with their baboe (nanny) with mother and baby. Carol’s German grandfather worked for a Dutch company…
By Bianca Dias-Halpert, Washington, USA Several years ago I received a big envelope with old family photos from a tante (aunt) in Holland. She had been researching our family geneology and heard that I was interested. I never knew this tante until we met in 2005. All the children…
Kathryn Pentecost is currently a PhD student in the School of Communications, International Studies and Languages at the University of South Australia, Magill Campus. This is her first contribution as a guest author for our web site blog. For the last three years, Rymill Park in Adelaide, South Australia has…
I became more aware of the American connection when I purchased a 77-page booklet titled “Instructions for American Serviceman in Dutch Indonesia during World War II” by the Dutch publishing house Elsevier. From the very beginning of the Japanese dream of conquering the land and people of Asia, they recognized the…
By Calvin Sidjaja, Jakarta, Indonesia Title: Social World of Batavia: Europeans and Eurasians in Colonial Indonesia Author: Jean Taylor Gilman ISBN-10: 0299094707 ISBN-13: 978-0299094706 This is probably one of the most complete literature of Dutch-Indonesians you could find. Written in readable language, this book contains valuable information for any Dutch-Indonesian…
Welcome to the heart beat of The Indo Project web site. Together we will explore the amazing journey of our community which originated in the Dutch East Indies. There are countless stories to share and new discoveries to be found. The purpose of the blog is to reflect, share and…
