Introduction

Abstract

In this introduction, I explain how, during five years of studying history in the Netherlands in the mid-1980s, it puzzled me that we never studied the decolonization of the Dutch East Indies. The subject was reported in the news, but indifference seemed to dominate within the university. This has led me to the question, How has the decolonization of the former Dutch East Indies during the period from 1945 to 1949 been represented in Dutch culture? My aim is to map out the process by which a collective memory of the war of decolonization was constructed among the Dutch during the 50 years after the declaration of independence in Indonesia (1945-1995). Using a variety of theoretical frames, I apply new readings to memories of decolonization that have been mediated in literature, memoirs, historical works, journalism, radio and television documentaries and film. This will reveal the means by which decolonization came to be (un)remembered.