If the reasons that dominant popular representations of the nation's history
did not dwell on the colonial are complex, the effects were clear. To tell of one's
experiences during the Dutch period conferred neither glory, legitimacy nor
" r e cogni t i~n. "T~h~ose with whom we spoke often assumed our interest in the
heroic, and actively worked to pull discussion in that direction. This frequent
return to the Japanese occupation as comparative referent was not only an effect
of official nationalist narratives, for the occupation cast a different light on
both the quotidian and the extraordinary violences of Dutch rule. For many former servants, the ravages of World War I1 and the volatility of the Revolution
years (and subsequent periods) prompted reworked recollections of the znman
Belnndn ("the Dutch period") as one of relative personal security