Annotation source: Seoul Metropolitan Archive
ANNOTATION
In December 1941, Japan carried out a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and quickly advanced to occupy the regions of today’s Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. Before being occupied by Japan, these areas were Dutch colonies called the Netherlands East Indies. Immediately after Japan occupied these areas, Dutch forces established an intelligence agency, Netherlands East Indies Forces Intelligence Service (NEFIS), to conduct intelligence operations for these regions. It is noteworthy that Japanese Forces controlled the former Netherlands East Indies throughout the war. With the exception of some places such as Borneo Island, the Allied Forces arrived to take over Japan’s Regional Headquarters only after the Japanese Emperor announced Japan’s surrender. For that reason, NEFIS’ “comfort women” related documents do not include interrogation reports of Japanese soldiers who surrendered after hostilities, unlike interrogation reports from other regions.
NEFIS collected and published various information regarding “comfort women” and comfort stations in these regions in the form of interrogation reports. The information was gathered from residents who were forced laborers and had escaped from Japanese military bases, or those who were rescued from the sea. These interrogation reports include various information, such as the enemy’s strategy, political and economic condition, propaganda, and psychological warfare. Information regarding “comfort women” and “comfort stations” is mostly found in the ‘General’ section.
This record is a Compilation of NEFIS Interrogation Reports, Nos. 1590-1630, dated May 5, 1945. The reports were based on interrogations of 41 refugees from Halmahera and adjacent islands. They state that shortly after the occupation of Ternate island, Japanese troops established a center to conscript and distribute “comfort women.” It states that two large comfort stations “were organized with women of various races, including Menadones, Javanese, Sumatrans, Chinese and Eurasians, and were dispatched to Halmahera, Ambon, and other locations.” It also states that local women were forcibly conscripted with only single women being targeted. As a result, the marriage rate on the island increased rapidly.
Contributors
[Organization] Seoul National University, Chin-sung Chung Research Team, 2015~
[Organization] City of Seoul, Women and Family Policy Affairs Office 2011~
[Organization] Seoul National University, Chin-sung Chung Research Team, 2015~
[Organization] National Archives and Records Administration 1934~
#NEFIS #Indonesia #Halmahera #marriage_rate
LESSON PLAN
Note to teachers:
1. The discussion questions below are designed based on the original document, not the annotation. Teachers are recommended to use the primary document in teaching, instead of annotation. However, the annotation provides useful background information for teachers when the prepare for the lesson.
2. The scaffolded questions below are based on page 1 and page 9.
Explain the following words to your students before asking them to read the document:
- interrogate: ask questions of (someone, especially a suspect or a prisoner) closely, aggressively, or formally
- NEFIS: Netherlands Forces Intelligence Service
- Nos.: a short form of "numbers"
- prostitution: the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment
- prostitute: a person, in particular a woman, who engages in sexual activity for payment. It refers to the "comfort women" in the document.
- brothel: a house where men can visit prostitutes. It refers to the "comfort stations" in the document.
- despatch: send off to a destination or for a purpose (note: "despatch" is the British variant of "dispatch.")
- conscript: enlist (someone) compulsorily, typically into the armed services
After reading the primary document (page 1 and page 9), please answer the following questions:
Quickly glance through page 1:
1. What kind of document is this?
2. What are the physical characteristics of this document?
a. Is it handwritten or typed?
b. Are there any marks? If so, what are they?
c. Any other physical features do you notice?
d. Does any of these physical characteristics interest you?
3. What's the title of the document?
4. Who created it?
5. Who's the audience of the document?
6. What year was it created?
7. What was the historical context in East and Southeast Asia during the time?
Now, go to page 9 and read the "Prostitution" paragraph at the bottom of the page:
8. What did the Japanese army do shortly after occupying Ternate Island?
9. What nationalities of women were recruited and dispatched as "comfort women?"
10. Were these women voluntary becoming "comfort women?" Use evidence from the paragraph to support your answer.
11. Why did the marriage rate increase rapidly?
12. The Japanese government has been claiming that it bears no legal or official responsibility for the "comfort women" victims. Based on this document, do you think the claim is defendable? Why or why not?
13. What additional questions do you have for this document?
14. Where/How can you find the answers?
* This lesson plan was designed by Jing Williams, Associate Professor of Social Studies Education at University of South Dakota.