Annemieke Kaan interviewed Lou Lichtveld (1903-1996) for her doctoral thesis on history (RUU) on Suriname. Helman speaks about the government of the former Dutch colony and about his literary work.

Lichtveld came to the Netherlands at the age of 18, did journalistic work, studied music and developed into a (film) composer and film critic. He went back to Suriname in 1949 and held several public positions in the country. For example, he served as Minister of Education from 1949-51 and as Minister Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the 1960s. He also emerged as an inspiring figure in Surinamese cultural life. For his books he often chose the country as a subject, although he mainly addressed a Dutch audience. Later he settled in the Netherlands again.

The interviews were conducted on behalf of the three-hour documentary film Indonesia Merdeka!, which Roelof Kiers made for the VPRO in 1976. The interviewees talk about the developments of the fight for independence in Indonesia before, during and after World War II until the transfer of sovereignty by the Netherlands on December 27, 1949. The documentary was first broadcast on Dec. 1, 1976. It was repeated several times thereafter.

Interviewees are:
– fam. M.E. Marsman, planters;
– Dr. Roeslan Abdulghani, nationalist youth leader, leader of revolution Surabaya, Ministry of Information of the Republic;
– mr. Mohammad Hatta, nationalist leader, vice-president republic of Indonesia;
– Dr. P.J. Koets, teacher, member thrust group, political advisor to lt. governor general, political advisor to HVK;
– General T.B. Simutapang, KNIL lieutenant, general staff TNI;
– General A.H. Nasoetion, ex-KNIL ensign, youth leader, commander Siliwangi division, TNI commander-in-chief;
– Dr. Abu Hanifa, physician;
– Johan Fabricius, BBC correspondent, journalist.

Carlos Rocha, member of the Central Committee of the liberation movement MPLA (Movimento Popular de Libertaçâo de Angola), talks about the liberation struggle in Angola. The interview took place against the backdrop of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal (April 25, 1974), for which the colonial wars that country waged in Angola, among others, were the immediate cause.

Issues discussed include the possible solution of the colonial problem by the new rulers in Portugal; the situation in the already liberated areas in Angola; the relationship between the MPLA and the other Angolan liberation movements, including the FNLA (for a time called UPA); the relationship with the independence movements Frelimo in Mozambique and PAIGC in Guinea-Bissau; the similarity with the (anti-imperialist) struggles in Indo-China. Angola gained its official independence on Nov. 11, 1975. The interview was conducted in French. However, the transcript is available in Dutch translation at Sound and Vision. 

In the interview, Van Maarseveen (born 1910) talks about her life in the Dutch East Indies until 1946 and her role in the Indo-European women’s movement. It was the intention of SFW’s Sound Archive to produce a whole series of interviews on the life of the Dutch East Indies in the Dutch East Indies, in collaboration with historian Korver. The latter was preparing a dissertation on the subject. However, when Korver changed the subject, the series was not continued. 

The interviews were conducted as part of Dirk Vlasblom’s publication Papua: a history. This book covers five centuries of Papua’s history, focusing on the period from 1945 onwards and with a special focus on the transfer from the Netherlands to Indonesia in 1962. The book focuses on the perspective of Papuans.

The interviews focus on events and experiences in the years 1920 – 2004.
They mainly discuss Indonesia and West Papua. Themes include World War II, Indonesian revolution, transfer to Indonesia in 1962, occupation.

The collection has been digitised and stored permanently at an e-depot.

Dirk Vlasblom (1952) studied cultural anthropology in Utrecht. With a brief interruption, he has been a correspondent for NRC Handelsblad in Jakarta since 1990. He previously published Jakarta, Jakarta – Reportages from Indonesia (1993), In a warung on the South Sea – Stories from Indonesia (1998) and Anchors & Chains – A Rotterdam Chronicle (2001).
In a compelling way, the author tells the stories of Papua. For this, he drew on unique sources. Protagonists and eyewitnesses speak for themselves, often for the first time. The archives of mission and mission were systematically researched for this book, also for the first time.
With this magisterial work, the author gives the Papuans their history.

Interviews collected for the Archaeological Anthropological Institute Netherlands Antilles (AAINA) by Rose Mary Allen during the period 1980-1995

An updated and expanded version of Will Johnson’s 1979 book, which recounts the history and culture of Saba, drawing from both archival sources and personal interviews.The original tapes, covering the lives of over 60 different Sabans, can be found at the Queen Wilhelmina Library in The Bottom, Saba.

Based on taped cassette interviews conducted in 1985 on the island of Saba, this film brings to life stories about living on Saba during the 19th and 20th centuries. 

An updated and expanded version of Will Johnson’s 1979 book, which recounts the history and culture of Saba, drawing from both archival sources and personal interviews.

Museum Maluku has several interviews in its collection collected for various reasons.
The interviews discuss events and experiences in the years 1930 – 2006.
They are mainly about the Netherlands, Groningen and Indonesia, the Moluccas. Themes include camp elders, Carel Coenraadpolder (CC polder), Commission Rechtspositie Ambonese Militairen en Schepelingen (CRAMS), Dutch Royal Navy.

The Nusantara Amsterdam Foundation conducted 17 interviews with young people whose family histories lie in former Dutch colonies as part of the Black under Orange project. After 13 interviews were conducted, a meeting was organised in which their stories were shared. Four more young people were then interviewed. A number of young people then embraced this initiative. Under the name Black x Orange, they organise various activities in which they link the colonial past to contemporary social themes such as remembrance, freedom and racism.

The interviews focus on events and experiences in the years 1980 – 2017.
They mainly talk about the Netherlands. Themes include colonial history and influence
of family history on one’s own life.

Website Nusantara Amsterdam: https://nusantara-amsterdam.nl/

When Nusantara Amsterdam Foundation was established in 2006, it was decided to work with Zieraad Foundation to record the life stories of visitors to the session afternoons organised by Nusantara Amsterdam Foundation. Within this storytelling project, 11 interviews were conducted. Video and audio recordings of the interviews were made by Ben and Ineke Vink. 10 of the interviews formed the basis for the book Antara Nusa, life stories of elderly people from the East Indies/Indonesia (2018) compiled by Yvette Kopijn (Zieraad foundation) with the cooperation of Hanoch Nahumury, secretary of Nusantara Amsterdam Foundation and Armando Ello, photographer. During the writing process, several follow-up interview sessions were held of which no recordings are available.

The interviews focus on events and experiences in the years 1930 – 2017. They mainly discuss Indonesia, Java, Sumatra, Ambon and New Guinea and the Netherlands.
Themes include colonisation, struggle for independence, Japanese occupation, World War II, Indonesian revolution, migration, RMS, upbringing, childhood, identity, class society, loss, displacement, uprooting, resilience, courage, racism.

Relevant links: Website Nusantara Amsterdam: https://nusantara-amsterdam.nl/
Facebook page Zieraad Foundation: https://www.facebook.com/StichtingZieraad/

Over the years, a lot has been written about settling and processing the end of the Dutch East Indies. The voice of the totoks (white Dutchmen) has been strikingly dominant in this. This book wants to offer the reader an alternative, multi-voiced perspective. It features elderly people of Indonesian, Moluccan, Timorese, Indonesian-Chinese and Surinamese descent.