Leo Jansen’s secret propaganda diary

In Deze Halve gevangenis  by Dr Leo Jansen, 

In this Half Prison
In Deze Halve Gevangenis

Leo Jansen was a multilingual  senior member of the Dutch Colonial administration who was forced to serve in the Japanese Propaganda bureau  established by the Japanese Imperial sixteenth army in Batavia ( Jakarta) , shortly after the Netherlands Indies capitulated.

During his time of service  he maintained a detailed secret diary  that casts a a fascinating light on  the  interaction of a very diverse group of people, many of whom were here against their will, knew  how the war was unfolding and engaged in philosophical  discussions about the struggle between European and Asian  viewpoints.

Leo Jansen became acutely aware toward the end of the war  that the Netherlands East Indies government in exile, base on Brisbane , had a totally unrealistic grasp on the political situation  on Java. He made a secret, but failed attempt to raise the alarm , was caught , tortured, narrowly survived the war but died in hospital. His diary was found but its significance and authorship remained unknown until  1968.

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