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As a World Bank retiree living in Sumatra, the land of my birth, and in Germany I developed
the habit of writing serialized letters to my family in the Netherlands, about my recollections
from Japan's occupation of Indonesia during World War II. As a boy I was interned in five
successive Japanese prison camps in Indonesia: Kramat, Tjideng, Grogol, Tjimahi, and 15th Battalion
in Bandung. Later I assembled my letters chronologically and got them printed; the resulting
bundle was distributed among the members of the extended Roeloffs family and to friends, all
of different rank, status, ethnic group, gender and age. I was surprised and heartened by the
positive reactions from all sides. In the meantime, writing and refining my memoirs had become
my hobby.
Encouraged by the responses, I started refining my work and translating it into English.
Surprisingly many younger persons among my Dutch and Indonesian readers insisted that I weave
more history into my story. I had not expected this because history is getting unfortunately
less and less attention in the curricula at educational institutions. I intended anyway to
integrate more historical data into my recollections, to satisfy my own interest in knowing
more about the larger political picture at the time I was so isolated in the prison camps. I began an
intense reading program focused on the period. As a result, my memoirs are laced with history,
giving my wartime experiences a broader context. By taking this direction, I necessarily
touched upon issues like Dutch colonialism and Indonesian nationalism in the former Dutch East
Indies. The results of my efforts are reflected in my memoirs, which will appear under the
above indicated title.
Writing one's own story brings a special satisfaction. The kind of recollection that is
involved brings the past into clearer focus and can help free the mind of unsettled emotions
from the past. Probably more importantly, it gives the opportunity to convey the message that
respect for human beings is a predetermination for a living together harmoniously in our small
world. For these reasons I have found the "memoir experience" one that has been invaluable
to me personally at this stage of my life.
My TRACES has been published worldwide by Minerva Press in London
(ISBN: 0754114449).
If you are interested in the book, it is featured on various Amazon sites,
but has been sold out there:
»
www.amazon.co.uk
,
»
www.amazon.de
,
»
www.amazon.com
The book is now self-published and you can order a copy of the book by contacting me through
email or by purchasing it online through my son's "JediPublishing" website:
»
www.jedipublishing.com
I'd be happy to receive your comments. E-mail to
pietroe@attglobal.net .
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About the author:
Pieter Roeloffs worked in both the world of private industry and in the field of
international development. From 1956 to 1969 he was with Gutehoffnungshuette (GHH) in
the Ruhr district of Germany and primarily involved in overseas heavy engineering
assignments (India). Thereafter, he left the world of profit-oriented corporation.
From 1969 to 1981, he was on Robert McNamara's staff at the World Bank in Washington, DC
working for Eastern African countries. In 1981, he left the Bank partly when he worked
on a three-partite contract (WB/GTZ/himself) as a team-leader for various technical
assistance projects in Indonesia, Nepal and again in Indonesia. The projects were
mainly in fields such as technical assistance for credit programs in the small and
medium enterprise sectors (Indonesia), including the smallest farmers (Nepal).
Pieter and his wife Adriana now enjoy retired life not far from Lake Toba in North Sumatra
as well as their permanent residence in the Taunus hills near Frankfurt. Their two
sons are working and living in The Netherlands and Thailand.
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Review:
Vivid impression of a young boy in Japanese camp, 22 July, 2001
Reviewer: A reader from Medan - Indonesia
Dutch Pieter Roeloffs memoirs give us an extraordinary vivid impression of how a young
boy of twelve years old experienced the Japanese occupation in Indonesia. Pieter, born
in 1929 in the small town of Kabanjahe on Sumatra where his father worked for the forestry
department, writes his memoirs in the form of letters to his family, recollecting all
the things that came to his mind after more than fifty years. He describes his youth
in Batavia (nowadays Jakarta), life during colonial times, footballmatches with the
Indonesian boys and his feelings as a Dutch boy towards his Indonesian friends. Then he
tells us how in 1942 he and his family were put in the civilian internee camp by the
Japanese occupators, separated from the father, how he managed to survive in the camp,
the daily life, how he made some money by selling bread and the behaviour of the
Japanese guards in the camp. Not until the war was over in 1945 did he hear about
his father's death in the biggest maritime disaster in history, the bombing of the
Junyo Maru in the Indian Ocean. What this meant to a fifteen old year boy, how he
got through all these experiences and how it formed his later life, we can read in
Pieter Roeloff's Traces. Pieter put his personal memories in a wider historical context,
the Japanese occupation and the revolution period thereafter. He was an eyewitness, a
fifteen year old boy, he places his own story in a global perspective and takes us
back to Indonesia in the forties. Traces is nicely written and easy reading about
a fascinating life story of a young boy who happened to live at a dramatic moment in
Indonesia in such a crucial period of time.
Dirk A. Buiskool (Dirk A. Buiskool is a Dutch historian who publishes on Indonesian history)
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Review:
Fascinating memoir of a young man's life as an internee, 20 August, 2001
Reviewer: Robert J. Jones (bobandida@juno.com) from Washington, D. C.
"Traces" is, quite simply, a treasure. Reading it, and re-reading it, is a joy. Pieter Roeloffs describes, with his unique approach, harrowing times in his youth, along with very personal accounts about the Dutch internees during the Pacific war. But Traces is far more than just a story of survival and adventures. Roeloffs has included various enlightening historical items about World War II and international political activities. My thanks and appreciation to the author.
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Review:
TRACES is both a moving story and a lesson in character, 7 December, 2001
Reviewer: Rick Barry (rickbarry@aol.com ) from Arlington, Virginia, USA
Roeloffs has carefully woven youthful experience with the wisdom and hindsight of age
in a masterfully done personal account of a boy caught up in World War II that takes
place in the isolation of a wartime internment camp. After what appears to be very
careful research, the author has cast those isolated moments into the historical context
of what was going on that must have been unbeknownst to him at that time. This
juxtaposition of youthful experience and adult reflections and research makes it a
compelling read for adults. I certainly enjoyed it, all the more because of the
war-diary format used by the author, where each chapter is in the form of a letter.
For a person like me, who doesn't have much time for leisure reading, it made an
excellent bedside reading companion, easy to read in installments without losing
its thread. I think it will make really interesting reading for young people as well,
while offering character building lessons along the way. It is the kind of book that
stirs the reader's interest in history, something many youngsters badly need, at
least in my country. If I were a high school history teacher, I would couple this
one with Diary of Anne Frank to make a wonderful his-and-hers required reading list.
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Review:
Zeer anbevolen!
Reviewer: Mr. Sibolt van Ketel, Nederlandse Post, December 2001 (in Dutch).
"TRACES", door Pieter Roeloffs
Pieter Roeloffs werd in 1929 in Batavia (Djakarta) geboren en bracht zijn jonge jaren
door in Nederlandsch-Indië, het laatste deel van zijn jeugd in Japanse interneringskampen.
Van '42 to '45 verbleef hij in vijf verschillende Jappenkampen en verhaalde daar later van
in brieven aan familieden, die ook in boekvorm zijn verschenen.
De reacties van zijn familie waren dusdanig positief dat Roeloffs besloot een bijgewerkte
biografie te maken, in het Engels, en voorzien van een historische achtergrond. Het
resultaat is "Traces, Memoirs of an Indonesian Wartime Boyhood 1939-1946".
Door de combinatie eigen ervaring/bredere geschiedenis is een boeiend relaas ontstaan,
waarin de schrijver naast het vertellen van vaak intieme persoonlijke onboezemingen
ook stilstaat bij de historische achtergrond van de Tweede Wereldoorlog en wat er in
"Indië", daarvoor en daarna gebeurde. Vooral het lezen over zijn opgeroeien in de
Japanse kampen is een emotionele ervaring. Roeloffs zegt dat het schrijven van zijn
memoires voor hemzelf een leerzame taak is geweest, iets dat hem in de herfsttij van
zijn leven veel genoegdoening heeft gegeven.
"Traces" is on-line te bestellen via Roeloffs' website: www.roeloffs.com. Het boek
kost £9,59 + verzendkosten.
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Review:
Mr. Trevor Gould, England (August 2002)
I found the story both informative and touching. It is hard to comprehend your experience
but your articulate writing was a delight.
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Book Retailers:
Van Stockum Boekverkopers, Venestraat 11, 2511 AR Den Haag - Tel: 070-3656808, Fax: 070-3617133.
Traces, Memoirs of an Indonesian Wartime Boyhood (1939-1946) Pieter Roeloffs
Combining human and historical interest, this presents a remarkable portrayal of war
in the Dutch East Indies. Roeloffs' typically Dutch resilience and courage shine through
in this resolute account of life in a prisoner of war camp and the eventual repatriation
in the Netherlands. Escape from wartime terrors has, for many, been the easiest part;
escape from the memories - even fifty years later - is a different story.
Forcibly parted from his family as a young boy during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia
during World War II, and uncertain of his father's whereabouts, Pieter Roeloffs' formative
years were marked by a profound anguish. Deprived of a secondary education and the
normality of family life, and having to confront the very real prospect of death at the
hands of his captors, Roeloffs' great love for both his family and his country was put
to the test at an inordinately young age.
Minerva Press, now self-published - circa 15.00 euro
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Photos used with permission
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Related Websites and Publications:
TjiDeng - A Prison Camp for Women
Riet Dekker remembers the Tjiding, West Java prison camp for women.
Peter van der Kuil
Tjideng - Well known for all the wrong reasons; The Sinking of the Junyo Maru - One of the largest, yet most forgotten, maritime disasters of WWII.
Douwes Family Website
The Sinking of the Junyo Maru and a personal POW Diary.
Theo Derksen Website
Personal diary and experiences from japanese prison camp Ambawara 6.
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