Suchergebnisse

Between 1997 and 2001 the Stichting Mondelinge Geschiedenis Indonesie (SMGI, Foundation for the Oral History of Indonesia) conducted interviews with 724 individuals, among them "full-blooded" Dutch, Indo-Europeans, Chinese, Moluccans, Menadonese and Javanese. The interviews document "the end of the Netherlands colonial presence in Asia", also giving a view on ordinary daylife in these days. The abstracts presented in this volume are an introduction to the sound archive comprising 2.800 hours of recording. (DÜI-Alb)

This article explores post-colonial memories about street traders among individuals who lived in the former colony of the Dutch East Indies. It argues that these narratives romanticize the relationship between Europeans and indigenous peoples. Street vendors are also used to differentiate between periods within colonial and post-colonial history. The nostalgic representation of interracial contact between Europeans and traders is contrasted with representations of other figures such as the Japanese and the nationalist. A recurring feature of these representations is the ability of Europeans to speak with street traders and imagine what they wanted and needed. The traders are remembered as a social type that transgressed politics and represented the neutrality of the economic sphere as a place for shared communication. The article concludes that the figure of the street vendor contributes to the nostalgic reinvention of the colony but is also used in narratives to differentiate between and mark changes across the colonial and post-colonial periods.

The struggle for independence in Indonesia between 1945 and 1949 has literally and figuratively left its mark. Through images and text the authors take the reader along on their quest through people, objects and places in Indonesia and the Netherlands. This bilingual Indonesian/Dutch book focuses on the personal experiences of civilians and soldiers who experienced the conflict at close quarters. It reflects on how people from both countries look back on that time and how memories of it are kept alive or not. By doing so, the authors restore the human dimension to an intriguing history. What choices did witnesses and contemporaries make at the time, to whom did they remain loyal, and why? How do their experiences live on in the present and what meaning does this period have now, for themselves but also for others for whom this history is important