Westerling, Raymond. Mijn Memoires…

Raymond Westerling’s memoir serves as a personal justification of his actions, primarily the atrocities he was accused of during his time as a captain in the DST, the commando division of the KNIL (Royal Dutch Colonial Army). Written by a ghostwriter, R. Groeninx van Zoelen, the memoir was published in 1952 and printed only once. In 2008, an English translation became available. The book focuses on his time in Indonesia during the decolonisation period, but being written chronologically, it also delves into his childhood and his brief period outside of the military, in which he attempted a coup on the newly formed Indonesian government. Having been written very soon after the decolonisation of Indonesia, Westerling’s memoir demonstrates little remorse or regret. It contains a detailed description of  the methods Westerling employed in pacifying South Celebes (now called Sulawesi), which involved executing people without any form of trial. He was held responsible for the kiling of 3500-4000 people, a number he himself disputes in his text. The reception of the memoir was relatively meek. As far as the historical value goes, the book serves little purpose aside from some political commentary on the cold war and communism, as almost none of it is factually accurate. However, as text used for perpetrator studies, the (self-)representation given of this particular perpetrator can serve as an example of the (self-)representation of perpetrators in the Dutch Indies as a whole.

Westerling, Raymond. Mijn Memoires…. Vink. Antwerpen, 1952.