Aan de slag met de collectie:
Sutarso Nasrudin
Thousands of young Indonesians defended independence in the months and years following the declaration. Sutarso Nasrudin (unknown - 1948), a soldier in the Indonesian army, was one of them.
Sutarso Nasrudin, portrait from his book of friends, c. 1948. Leiden, Leiden University Libraries
Three women and two boys, portrait from Sutarso Nasrudin’s book of friends, c. 1948. Leiden, Leiden University Libraries
Sutarso Nasrudin, portrait from his book of friends, c. 1948. Leiden, Leiden University Libraries
Group of soldiers, portrait from Sutarso Nasrudin’s book of friends, 26 August 1948. Leiden, Leiden University Libraries
Three men, portrait from Sutarso Nasrudin’s book of friends, c. 1948. Leiden, Leiden University Libraries
Cover of Sutarso Nasrudin’s book of friends, c. 1948. Leiden, Leiden University Libraries
Sutarso Nasrudin, portrait from his book of friends, c. 1948. Leiden, Leiden University Libraries
Sutarso Nasrudin
Sutarso Nasrudin enlisted in Indonesia’s national army, the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI). He served as part of the Siliwangi Division, an elite regiment that fought for Indonesian independence.
Friends album
During the struggle for freedom, he carried a book of friendship with him, containing photos of his family and his comrades in arms. ‘United in our fight for the fatherland,’ one caption reads.
His own picture
On one of the first pages of his pocket-sized book, Nasrudin pasted a photo of himself. He drew a frame around the picture and signed it as if it were a portrait.
Texts
Nasrudin also wrote poems in his book, with references to ancient Javanese legends, romantic poetry and soldiers’ songs. Those songs exalt the glory of the fatherland.
Pembakaran
It appears that Nasrudin feared one thing most of all: that his book would fall into the hands of the enemy. One of the last pages contains the inscription ‘Pembakaran’ (burning). This was probably an instruction to his family and friends to destroy the book if there was a chance it might fall into enemy hands.
Seized
In 1948, Nasrudin was arrested by Dutch soldiers and his book of friendship was taken from him. Like many of the objects and documents in this exhibition, it ended up in the Netherlands because it was seized by Dutch soldiers during the War of Independence.
Executed
Shortly after he was stripped of his book, Nasrudin was executed by Dutch soldiers.