Author Description

This is the first book to offer a thorough English-language study on the vicissitudes of the Dutch and Dutch Eurasians during the Japanese occupation of the East Indies. Dutch historian Louis de Jongís extensive study Het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (1969-1988), whose 13 parts were published in 27 volumes and together add up to almost 15,000 pages, is considered to be the standard work on the history of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Second World War. The present book, a translation of chapters 5 through 10 of Part 11b - one of the five volumes on the East Indies ñ makes a section of De Jongís magnum opus available to English readers. It presents an impressive account of the experiences of the Dutch civilians and prisoners of war under the Japanese occupation. An extensive introduction by Jeroen Kemperman sketches the course of events from the arrival of the Dutch in the Indonesian archipelago to the capitulation of the Dutch East Indies in March 1942.