Djajeng in Dachau

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.