Di Balik Kawat dan Gedhek: Sejarah Kamp Interniran Jepang di Pulau Jawa, 1942 - 1945

REO RAFIENZA, Julianto Ibrahim, M.Hum.

2024 | Skripsi | ILMU SEJARAH

Periode Pendudukan Jepang di dalam sejarah Indonesia memiliki banyak hal yang menarik untuk dibahas. Salah satunya adalah posisi dan kondisi orang-orang Eropa, khususnya Belanda di Pulau Jawa. Selama periode tersebut, orang-orang berkebangsaan musuh Jepang mengalami masa-masa sulit. Kehidupan mereka menjadi lebih buruk ketika Pemerintah Dai Nippon mengharuskan masuk ke dalam kamp-kamp interniran. Kehidupan di dalam kamp yang sarat akan penderitaan menjadikan penelitian ini berfokus mengkaji kehidupan para interniran. hal itu meliputi kondisi logistik, kesehatan, sanitasi, transportasi, hukuman, kematian, keamanan, hingga sistem prostitusi Jugun Ianfu. Selain itu, penelitian ini juga mengkaji mengenai sistem struktural kamp, yang dalam hal ini merupakan perspektif fundamental sebagai acuan untuk mengenal sistem kamp interniran di Jawa. Sistem struktural ini juga dilengkapi dengan persebaran lokasi kamp-kamp interniran di Pulau Jawa beserta jumlah tahanan pada setiap periode penginterniran. Berdasarkan penelitian ini, dapat disimpulkan bahwa kondisi orang-orang yang ditahan di dalam kamp interniran sangat buruk. Mereka rentan terjangkit penyakit karena kondisi kamp yang sangat memprihatinkan. Hal itu diperparah dengan asupan makan mereka yang tidak terpenuhi. Dengan kondisi yang seperti itu, tidak mengherankan jika angka kematian di dalam kamp interniran Jawa cukup tinggi. Tidak terpenuhinya kebutuhan primer para interniran ini juga merupakan cerminan kondisi Jepang di atas panggung Perang Dunia II yang berangsur-angsur melemah. Jepang tidak mampu menahan gempuran Sekutu, sehingga segala kebutuhan akomodasi seperti makanan dan obat-obatan hanya difokuskan kepada para tentara. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian sejarah melalui proses penelusuran sumber primer berupa arsip dan gambar yang mayoritas diakses melalui laman web Institut Dokumentasi Perang Belanda dan menggunakan sumber sekunder dengan topik kajian yang saling berkaitan. Dengan demikian penulis mampu menyusun penelitian ini berdasarkan sumber-sumber tersebut.

The Japanese Occupation period in Indonesian history has many interesting things to discuss. One of them is the position and condition of Europeans, especially the Dutch on  Java. During that period, people of enemy nationality of Japan experienced difficult times. Their lives became worse when the Dai Nippon Government required them to enter internment camps. Life in the camps which was full of suffering made this study focus on studying the lives of the internees. This includes logistical conditions, health, sanitation, transportation, punishment, death, security, and the Jugun Ianfu prostitution system. In addition, this study also examines the structural system of the camp, which in this case is a fundamental perspective as a reference for understanding the internment camp system in Java. This structural system is also equipped with the distribution of internment camp locations on the island of Java along with the number of prisoners in each internment period. Based on this study, it can be concluded that the conditions of the people detained in the internment camps were very bad. They were susceptible to disease because the conditions of the camps were very concerning. This was exacerbated by their unmet food intake. With such conditions, it is not surprising that the death rate in the Javanese internment camps was quite high. The unfulfilled primary needs of these internees also reflected Japan's condition on the stage of World War II which was gradually weakening. Japan was unable to withstand the onslaught of the Allies, so all accommodation needs such as food and medicine were only focused on the soldiers. This study uses a historical research method through the process of tracing primary sources in the form of archives and images, the majority of which were accessed through the website of the Dutch War Documentation Institute and using secondary sources with related study topics. Thus, the author is able to compile this research based on these sources.

Kata Kunci : Kamp Interniran, Jepang, Belanda, Jawa, Tawanan Perang