Eleventh International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

Between 1942 and1945 Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies, the area of present-day Indonesia. At that time, Dutch people, who used to colonize Indonesia, were put into internment camps by the Japanese. In the present day, some of the camps have become historical museums. However, the museums do not illustrate the Dutch lives in the camps. Instead, it tells the history of the Indonesians against the foreign power. This research discusses two museums in Indonesia, including the Museum Benteng Vredeburg in Jogjakarta and the Museum PETA in Bogor (as ex-internment camps in Java) and compares their narratives with the storyline of the Dutch Resistance Museum in Amsterdam and Bronbeek Museum in Arnhem. This research questions why the Japanese occupations are less represented within the Indonesian museums, particularly the story of the Dutch. On the contrary, it discusses how the story is being represented in the Netherlands. Through historical perspective, this research analyzes why the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies has not become a shared heritage between present-day Indonesia and the Netherlands.