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 Project logo was given by…
[The van Broekhuizen family on the Maasda ship 1961 from NL to USA] By Ray and Ludy van Broekhuizen The van Broekhuizen family arrived in the cold “kikkerland”, the Netherlands, in November 1957 from warm and tropical Jakarta, Indonesia. At that time, the family consisted of dad, Charles Louis van Broekhuizen, mom, Nancy Cornelia Tency…
By Nicole Maureen Vanderwaall In the living room of a small American ranch-style house in suburban Phoenix, a little girl sat at her Grandma’s feet, munching on a cookie. She tilted her head back, looking imploringly up at the sweet, elderly woman who told such wonderful stories. “Grandma, tell me a story, please. I want…
[Featured photo: Hut Where Anne Frank Stayed in 1944] By Patricia Tiber, Arizona, USA In September I took my annual trek to the Netherlands and decided to spend some time in Drenthe, a province I had never visited before. My request for exploring the ancient “Hunebedden,” (burial mounds-50 centuries’old megaliths); the old Saxon village of…
By Jack Profijt, Canada After their immigration to the USA and Canada, the task of integrating into a completely unknown culture began. Finding employment, housing and other services was, at times, very difficult, as the USA was going through its own problems with racial tensions in the southern states and its past actions in Korea. It was…
Excerpt Translated by Jan Krancher, California, USA After WWII, in an effort to re-establish control of its colony from 1947-1949 the Dutch instigated a “Politionele Acties” (police action) by sending troops back to Indonesia. To ease the transition for the troops and prepare them, a guidebook was published titled “Scheepspraet”. It is interesting to note the actual…
By Bianca Dias-Halpert, Washington, USA In 2004 my quest for English language literature about the Dutch East Indies came to a screeching halt when I discovered this wonderful book. Disguised A teenage girl’s surival in World War II Japanese prison camps, by Rita la Fontaine de Clercq Zubi published in 2001 is a treasure to…
Excerpt by Kathryn Pentecost (van der Poel family) of Adelaide, South Australia On my mother’s side, I come from an enormous family of van der Poels – some of whom migrated to the Netherlands Indies in the early 1800s. The van der Poel clan dates back before 1600; some members of the family migrated from Holland:…
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 in Djokjakarta. At the photo…
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 of Akron” made up mostly…