7/4/2025

Translation: Podcast Dialogue: History is over, Dialogue is not.

In this episode, Zahra Valke and Dalí den Haring join for a tour of three different speakers who explore the importance of dialogue.

First, they feature retired psychologist Bert van der Linden, the author of the book “Beyond Reunion – The Shadow of an Indo-European Camp Child” (2015). Van der Linden was born in 1940 in the city of Bandjarmasin, in Borneo (present-day Kalimantan). His father was a civil servant in the rugged interior of Borneo. Along with his mother and father, they were the only Dutch people there. It was an adventurous life, but it didn’t last long. After the Japanese conquest of the former Dutch East Indies in 1942, the family was interned in a Japanese internment camp. Van der Linden then recounts his experiences in the camp and the likely resulting traumas, tensions, and dramatic events.

Following this, Professor Nicole Immler, affiliated with the University of Humanistic Studies, will speak. Immler specializes in historical law, which includes Western colonialism. They investigate how this law is remembered in contemporary society. In the podcast, she discusses the impact of trauma and the importance of engaging in dialogue. This is difficult, but according to Immler, you don’t always have to agree to make progress. Listening and self-reflection are key.

Finally, historian Lara Nuberg discusses her Indo-European grandmother. Given this background, why did her Indo-European family never participate in the commemoration on August 15th, and what did her grandmother think of her Japanese friend?

Listen to the full podcast episode of Dialoog by Stichting Dialoog NJI below [in Dutch]: