By Brenda van der Wilde The author was inspired to capture some of her childhood memories after listening to The Indo Project’s latest podcasts, specifically the Transgenerational Trauma episode. My dad could not go to funerals, and he had an intolerance for red cars. He could not stand to hear screaming, and as children we were…
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 Netherlands to the Dutch East…
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 pilot in the Dutch air…
by Astrid Berg, PhD – Adapted from Mixed Blood : Reconciling My Colonial Family’s History in the Dutch East Indies. All men who were able were called to join the KNIL to fight the Japanese. Most ended up in camps, primarily in Indonesia, Burma, and Japan. My Opa Berg, along with Oom Os and Oom Tjeun,…