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Rebuilding family life after internment. Negotiating limits of femininity and masculinity.'
| The Pacific War turned out to be a harsh experience for all inhabitants of the Netherlands East Indies, and after the Japanese capitulation most people just wanted to return to pre-war life as soon as possible. But taking up former existence was easier said than done, not only in private but also in public. It soon became clear that restoring political pre-war conditions turned out to be a delusion. What happened in the private spheres, how did couples manage to put their personal lives back on the rails? In this paper I will explore in what ways gender roles were negotiated and reconfirmed right after the war. Subtle strategies of giving and taking, readjustments, validating social conventions and shifting tactics were part of the process. I will present a case study of a Dutch married couple that illustrates these mechanisms and strategies. After being forcedly separated for a few years in which the spouses had led their own life, with virtually no information on the experiences of their consort, they managed to get in touch again right after the war. Between early September and the end of October 1945 they corresponded from different internment camps on Java. Their letters were written mostly with pencil on scantily obtainable paper. Turning over the pages sixty years later the vulnerability of the moment can be sensed in the authentic writing straight from the heart. Through all their daily short term problems the main issue of European concern in the Netherlands East Indies emerges: employment and family. While both imagine their common future in isolation, the differences between their perspectives become clearer and clearer. But at the same time they realize that they want to give their new beginning a fair chance. Navigating carefully between hope and desire they manage to work out a joint future for their marriage and family.
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