Want to learn (more) about WWII in the Dutch East Indies, the Bersiap Period and the Independence War? Watch the 40-minute documentary by Simone Berger & Armando Ello with English subtitles. On December 3, 2023, The Indo Project hosted a live online Q&A session with the filmmakers. Over 60 people signed up and submitted questions,…
By Cindy Rodermond, Winnie Piccolo (nee Gravendaal), Ingrid Gravendaal, Linda Gravendaal, and Peggy Gravendaal Prior to the 1980s, movie posters were a one-off in that they were original, authentic drawings and paintings, even the billboard-sized ones that loomed high above city traffic. In the Netherlands, the artists behind these creations were called bioscoopschilders (cinema painters).…
The Skagit County Coroner’s Office in Mount Vernon, WA is looking for the next of kin of Herbert Mathis. Please call +1-360-416-1996 or email coroner@co.skagit.wa.us and refer to coroner case number 005-00. Rust in vrede (Rest in Peace) In 2000, the heavens opened up and welcomed an Indo ancestor by the name of Mr. Herbert…
by Fleur Wormgoor In Memoriam Fleur Wormgoor passed in March 2026. She was 93, but so young at heart. During the war she saw the good and the bad on both sides, which helped her cope and keep a very optimistic view on life. She was still very active and had a lot of plans,…
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 Nicholas on 6 December. The…
by The Indo Project Indos are thriving worldwide. Sometimes, however, Indos in California may not feel that sense of communal belonging or historical presence, and yet we truly are an authentic community. To this point, Dutch freelance journalist Inge Oosterhoff, has published a wonderful new long form article in the Dutch newspaper, De Groene Amsterdammer,…
Indonesia has a small Jewish population. In the 19th century, most of the Jews in the Dutch East Indies (now called Indonesia) were Dutch Jews from the Netherlands. The rest of the Jews in Indonesia were mainly immigrants from Iraq and Aden. The memories of wartime Indonesia (formerly known as the Dutch East Indies) were overshadowed by…
by Jane Vogel Mantiri Introduction I met Sonja in October 2011, almost seven decades after Papa was captured by the Japanese, shackled, and forced to work the Death Railway in Siam (Thailand) as a POW (prisoner of war). Papa would endure almost four years of torture before he was released from hell. He never told…
by Inez Hollander, Ph.D. – Academic Director of The Indo Project Introduction Lizzy van Leeuwen’s Volksvreemd vermaak: De Oost en de West op de Nederlandse podia voor en tijdens de Duitse bezetting (Amsterdam: Prometheus, 2023) This important book tells a history that, until now, has received little attention in the overall Dutch obsession with World…
by Ingrid Dümpel Emmy Verhoeff was born on December 6, 1939 in the beautiful mountain town of Malang, East Java. She experienced the entire war period in the Dutch East Indies. Shortly after the end of the war, in 1946, she lost her father. He worked for the police and was on patrol. The circumstances…