An Overview of a 1945 US Government Political Handbook on the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia)

Abstract

An Overview of a 1945 US Government Political Handbook on the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia) Howard M. Federspiel (bio) The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) operated throughout World War II and was well known for its intelligence work as it infiltrated agents into enemy (Axis) territory to perform secret missions, usually sabotage or assisting local resistance movements. Book and movie thrillers for decades afterward portrayed the derring-do of the OSS. In addition to its clandestine operational missions, the OSS was an important gatherer of normal intelligence for the United States, keeping policy makers and intelligence analysts informed about meaningful developments abroad. This “gathering” function was as important as its operational missions. The unit at the OSS for intelligence analysis was the Research and Analysis Branch, which had subunits responsible for each region of the world. The unit we are concerned with in this review is the Research for the Far East (RFE) division. When the war was over and the OSS disbanded, the entire Research and Analysis operation, including RFE analysts, was absorbed into the Department of State.1 It has been an integral part of the State Department since that time. [End Page 77] The document with which we are dealing in this review is a handbook of 195 pages dealing with political parties and movements in the Netherlands East Indies. It was fashioned by the RFE to assist its analysts in examining intelligence materials coming from East Asia, especially in providing background information that would add perspective to reports during World War II. Consequently, it was not intended to be an analytical report, but rather a reference work. The handbook provides an example of the work of a group of US government personnel nearly seventy-five years ago, showing readers the mindsets that existed then and the methodologies used for gathering and analyzing information. The handbook is also a glimpse in time, as it allows for the comparison of material fashioned then with studies on formative Indonesia made later.2 The material in the first part of the handbook was not new; it was common knowledge in Dutch political writing of the 1900 to 1942 political period, but it had not previously been assembled in any detail for an English-speaking audience. The material for the Japanese period (1942–45) was probably common to other RFE documents of the time, although certainly not widely published otherwise. Description and Analysis of the Original Handbook Bibliographic Information Paul Kattenburg. Parties and Movements in the Netherlands East Indies. Washington, DC: Research and Analysis Branch, Office of Strategic Services, February 1, 1945. R & A No. 2512. Typescript, black stencil copy, 196 pp., 10 tables, 17 black-and-white photographic plates, full table of contents, bibliography, and index of names. Brief Description “A study of political parties and semi-political movements in the Netherlands East Indies under Dutch Administration; of Indonesian political life under Japanese occupation; of the political press and propaganda; and of the Indonesian leaders and public figures under Netherlands and Japanese rules.”3 As a handbook, clearly a reference work for internal use of the Research and Analysis Branch, widespread distribution was not needed.4 There was probably no [End Page 78] distribution outside of the OSS. Extrapolating from later distribution patterns, it is likely that the original run was no more than 150 copies. Most copies would have been used and discarded in accordance with procedures for dealing with classified documents. Some copies would have gone to archives, but a few may have survived into the time of declassification and were retired to the archives of particular offices. The perishable nature of the manuscript makes it likely that only a small number—probably less than ten—are still in existence, and their whereabouts are unknown. Physical Condition of the Manuscript The document was produced using a stencil and reproduced on simple duplicating machinery. There was no typesetting. The typing apparently was prepared by a regular office typist, it was done on a good machine, regularly cleaned, and carefully typed. While some typos do appear, they are infrequent, showing a professional concern expected of government documents at the time. There was editing of the early part of the manuscript...