Leiden University Libraries Digital Collections

The Oral History Archive Indonesia (SMGI) is a sizeable database with audio files and summaries of interviews with 724 persons about their experiences while living in the Netherlands East Indies/Indonesia during the last period of the Dutch colonial presence (roughly between 1935–1962). These 3000 hours of personal accounts form a unique and rich source for the study of the Dutch (post)colonial history. Topics discussed are among others education, social interaction within and between the various social and ethnic groups, the occupation of the Netherlands East Indies by the Japanese army, Japanese internment camps, forced labor in internment camps in Japan and resettlement in the Netherlands. The accounts cover various islands of the Indonesian archipelago.

Note on the creation of Oral History Archive Indonesia
This database is the result of a large-scale interview project conducted by Stichting Mondelinge Geschiedenis Indonesië (SMGI). The project was coordinated by Prof. Fridus Steijlen of the Royal Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) in Leiden and ended in 2001.

Access to the collection
The SMGI collection is accessible only to authorized users. In order to request permission to access the SMGI collection, please fill in this form containing the user agreement Stichting Mondelinge Geschiedenis Indonesië (SMGI). The Special Collections Department will inform you about the procedure.

Relatives of deceased interviewees can request a copy of the audio files and the summaries if they can provide proof of their relative's death. Please fill in this form.