Kenang Kenangan: Moluccans in Zwolle

The interviews were conducted in 2012 during the opening of the photo exhibition Moluccans in the Netherlands where the book Kenang Kenangang, Herinneringen, Molukkers in Zwolle was also presented. The book contains personal memories of life in the Dutch East Indies/Indonesia, the migration to the Netherlands in 1951 and the stay in the residential areas in Laarbrug and Eerde and the settlement in the Holtenbroek neighborhood in Zwolle.

These interviews are not included at Collection Overijssel. The interviews conducted during the book presentation feature third generation Moluccans. Questions include: Where did you grow up? How are your ties with (family on) the Moluccas? How are you approached as a Moluccan by non-Moluccans?
Which typical Moluccan customs and habits play a role in your life?

The Dutch government did not fulfill the promise made to return to the Moluccas and so the temporary stay became permanent. In the 1960s a group of Moluccans settled in Zwolle and the Moluccan neighborhood in Holtenbroek came into being. The booklet tells how the Moluccans fared in Zwolle and how a third generation of Moluccans is now growing up in the city. For many people, the story of the Moluccans is unknown. With the booklet and the exhibition, the HCO wants to draw attention to the special history of this population group in Zwolle.