A Gate in the Wall

<p> This book shares the story of the Lindeijers a Dutch colonial family in Indonesia first during their time as captives of the Japanese during World War II and then during the postwar decades as they struggled to come to terms with their wartime trauma. The protagonists speak as much as possible for themselves through their documents.</p><p> The father in his prohibited POW diary records harsh brutal treatment but simultaneously reveals a level of complexity among his captors that is unusual in war memoirs. The mother's farewell letter dictated before her death eschews hatred focusing on a way for her family to move forward. And finally in recorded testimony the eldest son grapples with the trauma of his family's imprisonment but also the Dutch oppression of Indonesia stimulating a remarkable response in Japan and Indonesia today. The family's story traces a pathway from wartime hatred to postwar reconciliation--across generations and continents.</p>