March 4, 2014 edition

IN the 1940s, activists from Perhimpunan Indonesia, or the Indonesian Association, did not only struggle for the archipelago's independence. They also participated in the movement against German fascism.
One of those activists is still alive. His name is Djajeng Pratomo, and he lives in Holland. He was once held at the Nazi concentration camp in Dachau, Munich, said to be the Nazi's cruelest, most brutal facility.
Dachau had gas chambers, a crematorium with a chimney for incinerating corpses, and electric instruments of torture. Each day saw thousands more corpses pile up, so ladders had to be used to add to the mountain. Dachau was not the Nazi's first concentration camp, but it served as an example for others which adopted its methods.
Last week on February 22, Djajeng celebrated his hundredth birthday. To commemorate the occasion, Tempo sat down with Djajeng and listened to his stories from the Indonesian Association and Dachau. Tempo also interviewed two former Indonesian Association members from his generation who are also still alive.

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More Interlude articles in other editions

January 1, 1970 edition

Amsterdam's Tropics Institute, faced with budget cuts, is giving away its books. Among them is the famed pustaha, the Batak divination manual. There are no plans to return any of the artifacts to Indonesia.

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January 14, 2014 edition

The exhibition S. Sudjojono: Art, Life, and Legacy, which was held at the Pakarti Building of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta on December 12-22, featured a nude painting by Sudjojono, which collectors have quietly been talking about.
The painting in question is Tempat Mandi di Pinggir Laut ("Bathing Spot by the Sea"). It strongly resembles another one of Sudjojono's paintings titled Dunia tanpa Pria ("World Without Men"). Both paintings portray over a dozen nude women relaxing outdoors behind large stones at the edge of a water pool . The difference is, one woman in Tempat Mandi di Pinggir Laut is wearing transparent brocade, while in the other she is uncovered.
So far these 'twin' paintings have never been publicly discussed. A book launched during the exhibition made no discussion of it either. More's the pity, the painting Dunia tanpa Pria was not present in the exhibition. Did Sudjojono make both the paintings? Or is there a possibility that one of them is a fake? What is the opinion of Putra Masagung, who owns Dunia tanpa Pria? Here is Tempo's analysis.

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