Mocking Colonial Hierarchies

Issued by the Banjarnegara Information Bureau in Central Java, this flyer shows totok (white) Dutch soldiers riding safely in a military jeep, shielded by soldiers of various ethnicities. It mocks the racial hierarchy of the Dutch army, in which “totok” Dutch were privileged while Indonesians from many ethnic groups were enlisted to serve. The caption, "Selamanja: Blanda Totok dibelakang, kamoe didepan!" (Always: the white Dutch behind, you in front!), drives the point home, aiming to make non-Dutch soldiers aware of the discrimination they faced and casting the Republic and its army as opposed to that colonial racial order.