1945 – 2023
Ons Noorden (10 Nov 1945), Reuter/Aneta report on Maj.-Gen. Mansergh's ultimatum to Surabaya's governor Suryo to disarm, with a communist party spokesman among those broadcasting appeals not to surrender weapons. Women and children may leave the city by 9 Nov. Background to the Battle of Surabaya; no Gerwani content.
Ons Noorden (10 Nov 1945), Reuter/Aneta report on Maj.-Gen. Mansergh's ultimatum to Surabaya's governor Suryo to disarm, with a communist party spokesman among those broadcasting appeals not to surrender weapons. Women and children may leave the city by 9 Nov. Background to the Battle of Surabaya; no Gerwani content.
Dutch newspaper report ('t Nieuws voor Kampen, 20 Aug 1951, p. 6) on the mass arrests of 26 people in East Java, including journalists, PKI and SOBSI officials in Surabaya, and the chairwoman of Gerwis, Mrs. Parjani Ilham. Officials said the arrests targeted no particular group.
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1951-08-20, p. 2, beginning missing) lists those arrested in the Surabaya raids: Chinese-Indonesian editors, SOBSI and SBKA chairman Surono, PKI chairman Hutapa and board members, kampung officials, and Gerwis chairwoman Mrs. Parjani Ilham, plus a Chinese school pupil. Police seized portraits
De Nieuwsgier, 20 Aug 1951: report on the August 1951 Sukiman government sweep in East Java: 26 detained in Surabaya, including editors, SOBSI and PKI leaders, and Mrs Parjani Ilham, chairwoman of Gerwis. Police seized Mao, Lenin and Stalin pictures. Officials say the arrests do not target a particular ideology. Early
De Tijd report (20 Aug 1951) on the mass arrests in East Java (August 1951 raids): 26 detained, including journalists, PKI Surabaya chairman Hutapea, SOBSI/SBKA officials and "the chairwoman of the women's organisation Gerwis, Mrs. Parjani Ilham". Authorities denied targeting any ideology.
Eindhovensch Dagblad front-page report (20 Aug 1951) on the East Java arrests of 26 people, including journalists, the local PKI chair, SOBSI union leaders, and the chair of the women's organisation Gerwis, 'mevrouw Parjani Ilham' (as printed). Part of the August 1951 round-up; the paper links journalist Go Tjing Hok's
Het Vaderland front-page report (20 Aug 1951) on the escalating arrests of communists across Indonesia: 26 in East Java including Java Post editor Go Tjing Hok, the local PKI chair and SOBSI leaders, and Mrs Parjani Ilham, chair of the women's organisation 'Gerwis'; 50 in Bandung with SOBSI offices sealed; 175 in East
Nieuwe Haarlemsche Courant, 20 August 1951: reports the August 1951 mass arrests in East Java (the 'Razzia Agustus') of 26 people in Surabaya including journalists, PKI local chair Hutapea, Sobsi's Surono and Sutomo, and the Gerwis chairwoman Mrs Parjani Ilham; 175 more arrested in Malang, Bojonegoro, Madiun and Kediri
Nijmeegsch Dagblad (20 Aug 1951) on the August 1951 arrests in East Java: 26 detained including journalists, the local PKI chairman and SOBSI unionists. Among them is Gerwis chairwoman Mrs Parjani Ilham of Surabaya. Officials deny a group is targeted; press control is to be tightened.
Provinciale Overijsselsche en Zwolsche Courant (20 Aug 1951): 26 arrests in East Java including Javapost editor Go Tjing Hok, journalists, the Surabaya PKI chairman, SOBSI unionists and Gerwis chairwoman Mrs Parjani Ilham. Authorities say the arrests target no particular group or ideology. Part of the August 1951 raids
Trouw (20 Aug 1951) on the August 1951 arrests: 26 detained in East Java including journalists, the PKI branch chairman, SOBSI unionists and Gerwis chairwoman Mrs Parjani Ilham; 50 communists arrested in Bandung and SOBSI offices sealed. Attorney General warns of tighter press control; 17 August passed quietly.
Winschoter Courant (20 Aug 1951): 26 arrested in East Java, among them Javapost editor Go Tjing Hok, other editors, the Surabaya PKI chairman, SOBSI unionists and Gerwis chairwoman Mrs Parjani Ilham. Officials say no group or ideology is targeted. Part of the August 1951 raids.
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 25 Aug 1951, p. 1: the August 1951 raids in East Java. About 26 arrested in Surabaya, including Mrs Parjani Ilham, chairwoman of Gerwis there, journalists, Sobsi and PKI local leaders; about 175 arrested across East Java. Police seized pictures of Mao, Lenin and Stalin.
De Vrije Pers item (14 Jan 1952) on a new West Irian liberation committee in (apparently) Surabaya/East Java, with posts split among Badan Perjuangan Irian, SOBSI, PKI, PNI, Indo-National Party and Murba; its organisation section includes Front Pemuda, Pemuda Kesatuan Indonesia and Gerwis. It also demands ending the Ro
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1952-01-18, p. 3): in Surabaya a Panitya Pembebasan Irian Barat is formed at the initiative of the Badan Perdjoangan Irian Timur Jawa with SOBSI, PKI, PNI, Murba and others; Gerwis sits in the organisation section with youth fronts. It seeks to end the RTC agreement and abolish the Union.
De Vrije Pers item (24 Mar 1952): the East Java Committee of Victims of the August Raids met in Surabaya with thirty residency delegates and PKI and Gerwis Surabaya branches; reports on detainees moved many to tears. A resolution urged speedy release, support for families, payment of civil servants' salaries and visiti
Java-Bode, 25 Mar 1952, p. 2: East Java conference of the Committee for Victims of the August Raid in Surabaya with PKI and Gerwis delegates; resolution demands release of Kediri detainees, support for families and visiting rights. Same text as the Indische Courant item of 29 Mar 1952.
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 29 Mar 1952, p. 3: East Java conference of the Committee for Victims of the August Raid, in Surabaya on 23 March, attended by PKI and Gerwis delegates; resolution urges release of Kediri detainees, support for their families and visiting rights. Also a Lombok famine-relief item.
Harian Rakjat, 13 June 1952. On p. 2 an open letter from the East Java Committee for Victims of the August Razzia (chair Ny. Harsono, secretary Sulami) presses the central government to clarify the status of detainees from the August 1951 mass arrests and free them before Idul Fitri, citing the humiliation and sufferin
De Vrije Pers report (2 Aug 1952) on a public meeting during the Gerwis East Java conference in Surabaya. Miss Sulami explained Gerwis as anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist, opposed the widows' pension rule as promoting polygamy, blamed polygamy on the lack of a marriage law and prostitution on imperialist-caused pov
Brief De Vrije Pers item (8 Aug 1952): the Gerwis East Java conference decided to send a delegation of Mrs. Tam, Sulami and Warmi to the Asian peace conference in Peking, leaving 5 September.
Full-page OCR version (De Vrije Pers, 8 Aug 1952, Surabaya) of the item "Gerwis naar Peking": the East Java conference sends Mrs. Tam, Sulami and Warmi to the Asian peace conference. The page also carries an unrelated press-review attack on PKI support for the Wilopo cabinet and other garbled items.
Java-Bode, 11 Aug 1952, p. 2. Mostly a Surabaya court verdict over the 1950 'Koalas' boat theft; the Gerwani-relevant item is an Aneta note that the East Java Gerwis conference decided to send Mrs Tam, Sulami and Warmi to the Asian peace conference in Peking.
Short Aneta item, Indische Courant voor Nederland, 18 Aug 1952, p. 3: the East Java branch conference of Gerwis decides to send a delegation (Mrs Tam, Sulami, Warmi) to the Asian peace conference in Peking. Also notes Salatiga teacher-training funds and the Parindra congress.
Harian Rakjat, 21 Aug 1952, p. 1: the central Razzia Victims Committee and its East Java branch, including Sulami, Suwarinah and Ny. Taha (central: Ny. Suprapto), met PM Wilopo and the defence minister about the detainees of the August 1952 razzia (Tanggerang camp, exile to Malang). Both ministers denied knowing of any
De Vrije Pers report (26 Aug 1952) on a press conference by the East Java committee for victims of the August raids announcing mass demonstrations on 7 Sept. Miss Sulami, committee secretary, reported Prime Minister Wilopo gave no release date, blamed the RTC-linked Sukiman policy and called the raids an attack on the
Java-Bode, 27 Aug 1952, p. 2: Miss Sulami, secretary of the Surabaya committee for victims of the August raids, says something is wrong with the arrestees' release, blames the Sukiman-Wibisono policy and RTC, and says the raids were a general attack on the anti-imperialist people.
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1952-08-28, p. 2): at a Surabaya press conference the committee for victims of the August 1951 raids, with SOBSI, plans a 7 September mass demonstration outside the governor's and Brawijaya commander's residences demanding release of all arrestees. Committee secretary Miss Sulami blames the RT
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 1 Sep 1952, p. 1: the Surabaya Committee for Victims of the August Raids plans a mass demonstration on 7 Sept. Committee secretary Miss Sulami reports on meetings with PM Wilopo and the defence minister, blames the Sukiman-Wibisono policy and RTC, and notes 62 SOB detainees remain in Ea
De Vrije Pers item (4 Sep 1952): Surabaya authorities refused permission for the 7 September demonstration for August-raid detainees; a delegation of Mrs. Tam, Mrs. Talia and Miss Sulami left for Jakarta to seek a presidential audience, and Tam and Sulami with Miss Warmi and Mr Fatkali were to go on to the "communist p
De Waarheid, 9 Dec 1952, p. 4: Jakarta dispatch on reactions to the Dutch arrest of Indonesians Sunito and Go Gien Tjwan in Amsterdam and action against PKI representatives Aidit and Njoto. The PKI Central Committee calls it arbitrary and urges reprisals; Gerwis also asked the government for counter-measures. A Dutch p
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 7 Jan 1953, p. 3: year-in-review chronology for 1952 (selected entries translated). Mentions the August 1951 raids, the 17 October 1952 affair, release of East Java arrestees on 30 Oct, a goodwill mission to Kahar Muzakkar under Mrs Salawati (8 Apr), and Aidit and Njoto refused entry to
De Waarheid, 6 May 1953, p. 5: dispatch citing two Gerwis women, Su... and Warinah, on the growth of Gerwis in East Java: districts up from 19 (early 1952) to 37, 120 branches plus 50 forming, 7,016 members, mainly women workers, peasants and self-employed. Illiteracy is the main obstacle, countered by courses attended
Nieuwe Haarlemsche Courant, 18 July 1953, p. 9: page with an organ-competition review (unrelated) and short items on the Dutch High Commissioner's East Java tour and Foreign Minister Luns in Karachi, who held talks with the Indonesian foreign minister. No Gerwani, Gerwis or women's movement content; the indexed name 'T
De Waarheid, 9 Dec 1953, p. 5: Malang dispatch on a Gerwis conference reviewing East Java work. In six months membership rose from 12,000 to 16,420 and branches from 37 to 49; literacy courses ran in 120 villages with 1,349 participants; 15 kindergartens (kleuterbewaarplaatsen) opened, holding almost 600 children daily
De Vrije Pers note (31 Aug 1954) on the Gerwani East Java conference, which ended with a reception and artistic performance at the Stadstuin in Surabaya. Topics discussed included the draft marriage law, the multi-wife pension regulation, the elections, food prices and pornographic reading matter and films.
De Waarheid, 29 Sep 1954, p. 5: Dutch printing of an account from Soviet Woman by Soviet delegates Alexandra Cholopowa and Jekaterina Sjeweljowa on their three-week visit to Indonesia at Gerwani's invitation. They describe the word 'damai' (peace), women workers' and plantation conditions in East Java and Bandung, the
Short De Vrije Pers note (22 Oct 1954): a People's Security Congress committee for the East Java elections was set up on 18 Oct at a meeting of 25 organisations; seat-holders include Gerwani, Perbepsi, Sarbupri and others.
Harian Rakjat, 23 Feb 1955, p. 3: PKI's list of candidates for the 1955 election (nos. 94-117 visible, with party and non-party 'takberpartai' candidates). No. 100 is Sulami, independent, general secretary of DPD Gerwani East Java; no. 101 Suwarinah, member of DPD Gerwani East Java. Same page: Ny. Mudigdio, vice-chair
Page 2 of the Daily Worker (New York, 26 Apr 1955) with Ralph Parker's 'Bandung Notebook' on the Asian-African Conference: Indonesian hosts, students, land and independence hopes. A separate item reports 27 doctors' protest over Claudia Jones's imprisonment, citing a WIDF report. Indonesian women appear only in a fragm
De Locomotief, 7 Sept 1955: the Gerwani branch in Jombang forms a committee, led by a Mrs Kenrati (uncertain), to set up a children's care centre during the coming general elections so mothers can vote calmly. Evidence of Gerwani's practical electoral support for women and childcare.
Umi Sardjono's general report for the Gerwani DPP Executive to the 3rd DPP Plenary (16-19 June 1956), published by DPP Gerwani. Reviews the 1955 election campaign (23,480 new Gerwani workers; five Gerwani members elected, including Umi Sardjono and Salawati), marriage-law and anti-polygamy casework (86 of 115 cases res
Pravda, No. 59, 1956 (c. 28 Feb), p. 3: Jakarta dispatch 'The working people of Indonesia speak' among foreign responses to the 20th CPSU Congress. SOBSI leaders (Sumandi, Sudoyo, Sudadi) praise the Congress; Gerwani leader Suharti says she followed it via newspapers and Moscow radio in Indonesian and is 'amazed' at So
US Monthly Indonesian Press Survey (1956) extracts. A list of PKI's 39 parliamentary seats includes Gerwani leaders (Umi Sardjono, Suharti Suwarto, Mudigdio, Sundari Abdurachman, Charlotte Salawati); notes the Central Sumatra Gerwani conference (Bukittinggi, Feb 1956; 14,000 members, 216 sections) and new branches in J
Page (seq. 1010) of the US 'Monthly Indonesian Press Survey' (nos. 11-21, 1956) listing 1955-56 Constituent Assembly members by region. Under the PKI group (80 seats), East Java (27) names Njoto, Njono, Tan Ling Djie and Suwardiningsih, whom the sweep identifies as a Gerwani member; the page does not say so.
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1956-03-02, p. 2): list of PKI candidates by electoral district across East Java, Central Java, West Java, Greater Jakarta and Sumatra. It includes women: Umi Sardjono (Mrs. Sukisman), Suharti Suwarto (Solo), Mudigdio (Siti Aminah Mochsjam, Jakarta), Sundari Abdulrachman (Semarang), Salawati D
Merdeka, 4 Mar 1957, p. 3: twelve Surabaya women's organisations including Wanita Demokrat and Gerwani declare support for Sukarno's February 1957 Konsepsi, alongside veterans' groups.
Pewarta Soerabaia, 4 Oct 1957, p. 4: Lumajang women's federation revived on 21 Sept 1957 by Wanita Demokrat, Aisyiyah, Gerwani, Bhayangkari and others, with a new board drawn from all except Gerwani.
WIDF Information Bulletin no. 10/1958 report on Gerwani since its Third Congress (December 1957): regional conferences, new constitution (branches replace workplace branches, 20-member minimum), plan to double membership, campaign for a national marriage law against polygamy with Sumari (PNI) and Mudigdio (PKI) MPs in
Page 564 of the US State Department's Monthly Indonesian Press Survey (nos. 33-44, 1958), summarising the 25 Sept 1958 Nusantara. Suwardiningsih, PKI East Java committee and Constituent Assembly member, entered Kalisosok prison, Surabaya, on 22 Sept to serve a month (cut from six) for remarks about Hatta in 1953; thous
Api Kartini (December 1959) news-roundup column. Notes the Kungalv (Sweden) women's disarmament conference attended by A. Hidayat, a Gerakan Ibu protest letter to the UN on French A-bomb tests, Jakarta preparations for the 50th International Women's Day (lectures among peasant women, bazaar), and a DPP Gerwani work mee
Short speech by Suwardiningsih of the PKI East Java committee at the Sixth Congress (1959), claiming only the second PKI congress to attend to work among women and asking what attracts women to the PKI: equal rights in voting, marriage and divorce.
Volume II of the documents of the PKI Sixth National Congress (Jakarta, 7-14 September 1959; Bintang Merah special, Yayasan Pembaruan, 1960): delegates' speeches. It includes the speech of Suharti, deputy chair of the Gerwani national leadership (pp. 595-603), on women as the most oppressed, peasant women, women cadres
Volume II of the documents of the PKI Sixth National Congress (Jakarta, 7-14 September 1959; Bintang Merah special, Yayasan Pembaruan, 1960): delegates' speeches. It includes the speech of Suharti, deputy chair of the Gerwani national leadership (pp. 595-603), on women as the most oppressed, peasant women, women cadres
Renmin Ribao, 5 Apr 1960, p. 6 (Xinhua, Jakarta): the chairman of the Surabaya Indonesia-China Friendship Association visits over two hundred Chinese from Malang, Kediri, Tulungagung and Blitar sheltered in Surabaya before they sail home on 1 April after the retail-trade ban. Surabaya Gerwani also sent people to presen
Renmin Ribao, 5 Apr 1960, p. 6 (Xinhua, Jakarta): the chairman of the Surabaya Indonesia-China Friendship Association visits over two hundred Chinese from Malang, Kediri, Tulungagung and Blitar sheltered in Surabaya before they sail home on 1 April after the retail-trade ban. Surabaya Gerwani also sent people to presen
Renmin Ribao, 19 Jun 1960, p. 6 (Xinhua, Jakarta): representatives of the Indonesia-China Friendship Association, the Peace Committee and Gerwani see off East and West Java Chinese leaving on Chinese ships. Peace Committee chair Mrs Arudji (PSII) and Gerwani leader Mrs Mandaki speak of lasting friendship; returnees say
Renmin Ribao, 19 Jun 1960, p. 6 (Xinhua, Jakarta): representatives of the Indonesia-China Friendship Association, the Peace Committee and Gerwani see off East and West Java Chinese leaving on Chinese ships. Peace Committee chair Mrs Arudji (PSII) and Gerwani leader Mrs Mandaki speak of lasting friendship; returnees say
Renmin Ribao, 15 Jul 1960, p. 5 (Xinhua, Jakarta): over 15,000 ethnic Chinese hold a memorial in Cimahi, West Java, for Ye Jinniang and Yang Mumei, killed 3 July by West Java military during forced removals. Gerwani's Central Council and its Jakarta, Bandung, West and East Java and Cimahi branches sent representatives.
Renmin Ribao, 15 Jul 1960, p. 5 (Xinhua, Jakarta): over 15,000 ethnic Chinese hold a memorial in Cimahi, West Java, for Ye Jinniang and Yang Mumei, killed 3 July by West Java military during forced removals. Gerwani's Central Council and its Jakarta, Bandung, West and East Java and Cimahi branches sent representatives.
Donald Hindley's 1961 ANU PhD thesis on the Indonesian Communist Party under the Aidit leadership, 1951-1961, covering PKI strategy, party-building, finances, mass organisations and elections. Section 'Women' (pp. 422-448, esp. 'Gerwani', pp. 428-441) traces Gerwis from its founding on 4 June 1950 (about 500 members) t
Gerwani national leadership (DPP) brochure of the National Seminar on Peasant Women, Jakarta, 17-20 January 1961 (published 1962). Contains the DPP keynote on peasant-women's emancipation against imperialism and feudal remnants, speeches by BTI, ministers and D.N. Aidit, regional delegates' land-tenure reports, a Mudig
Travel essay by M. L. Huber in Women of the Whole World, 1963, on a car journey from Jakarta toward East Java and Bandung, with a sweeping history of Indonesian civilisation, colonialism, the Round Table agreement and 1957 nationalisations, in a pro-Sukarno-era socialist-bloc framing. Gerwani is not mentioned.
FBIS-monitored Xinhua report (8 Jul 1963): an Indonesian women's delegation, a Nepalese delegate and the Chinese delegation arrived in Peking after the World Congress of Women in Moscow, welcomed by 300 people. Indonesian members include Mme Parjani Pradono (head, Gerwani central committee), Mme Satryo and Mme Muningga
Renmin Ribao, 9 Jul 1963, p. 1 (Xinhua): after the Moscow World Congress of Women, an Indonesian delegation, a Nepalese delegate and the Chinese delegation arrive in Beijing, welcomed by 300 leaders. Delegation head Mrs Pardjani Pradono is a Gerwani CC member; Mrs Satrijo and Mrs Muninggar are East Java Gerwani leaders
Renmin Ribao, 9 Jul 1963, p. 1 (Xinhua): after the Moscow World Congress of Women, an Indonesian delegation, a Nepalese delegate and the Chinese delegation arrive in Beijing, welcomed by 300 leaders. Delegation head Mrs Pardjani Pradono is a Gerwani CC member; Mrs Satrijo and Mrs Muninggar are East Java Gerwani leaders
Snippet-only Renmin Ribao note (20 Aug 1963, p. 4): Gerwani vice-chair and DPR-GR member Mrs Mudigdio and Mrs Muningar, East Java Gerwani committee member, left Beijing by air on 12 August to return home. Full text duplicates GA-01898.
Brief Xinhua note in Renmin Ribao (20 Aug 1963, p. 4): Gerwani vice-chair and DPR-GR member Mrs Mudigdio and Mrs Muningar of the East Java Gerwani committee left Beijing by air on 12 August for home, ending their China visit after the World Congress of Women.
Pravda, c. 27 October 1965 (No. 300), 'The Situation in Indonesia': two short TASS dispatches from Jakarta dated 26 October. They report Sukarno and Subandrio on the 30 September Movement and ongoing repression of the PKI. Gerwani is mentioned once, among organisations banned by military authorities in North Sulawesi a
Pravda no. 300, 1965 (excerpt; TASS dispatch dated Jakarta, 26 Oct). Reports Sukarno ordering police and army to fire on those destroying Communist property, and military bans on the PKI, SOBSI and BTI in East Java and East Sulawesi; in North Sulawesi the ban also covers Gerwani. Rest is unrelated (OAU, Rhodesia, econo
CIA 'Indonesian Situation' report no. 61, 14 November 1965: continuing anti-communist action and mass killings, Aidit's presumed whereabouts, and 1,000 women demonstrating in Jakarta for permanent dissolution of the PKI women's auxiliary. Records an early anti-Gerwani mobilisation.
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180312 (1965), 'Internal political situation, Attempted coup against Sukarno [3]', a volume of Embassy letters and telegrams from Djakarta (Ambassador Gilchrist, S.J.G. Cambridge), February to April 1965. It includes Gilchrist's character notes on Subandrio, Aidit and the generals, the tak
The Irish Times, 11 Oct 1965, p.66 (Reuter and AP): mass arrests of Communists in Jakarta (about 1,500 detained) after PKI headquarters were burned; Muslims and army organise processions demanding Aidit be hanged. Those arrested include Gerwani members, some alleged to have tortured the six generals, and a crowd of Mus
The Scotsman, 11 Oct 1965 (Djakarta, Sunday): mass arrests of Communists after the reported discovery of arms and a radio transmitter at burned PKI headquarters, with detainees put at 3,500 including rebels in Java. Among those arrested are Gerwani members alleged to have tortured the six generals whose mutilated bodie
The Times, 11 Oct 1965, p.9, whole page scan; only the first article, 'Mass arrests in Jakarta: anti-Communist drive', concerns Indonesia (other items cover Aden, Cuba, Bulgaria, etc.). It reports 1,500 detained, the burning of PKI headquarters, Muslim demands that Aidit be hanged, and that arrested Communists include
Evening Post (Wellington), 11 Oct 1965, AAP-Reuter/AP/NZPA report: mass arrests of Communists in Jakarta (about 1,500 detained in a week, 2,000 in Java) and fears of a Communist counter-terror. A Muslim mob ransacked a suburban Gerwani office, destroying files and furniture. Saura Islam alleges Communist women tried to
Headline-only clipping 'Fears of a New Surge of Red Terror in Indonesia' from the Evening Post of 11 Oct 1965; no further text.
Opening clipping of the Evening Post article of 11 Oct 1965: mass arrests of Communists continued in Jakarta, with fears of a retaliatory terror campaign; unofficial estimates of 1,500 detained in a week and 2,000 captured in Java. Gerwani is not mentioned in this fragment.
Opening clipping of the Evening Post article of 11 Oct 1965: mass arrests of Communists continued in Jakarta, with fears of a retaliatory terror campaign; unofficial estimates of 1,500 detained in a week and 2,000 captured in Java. Gerwani is not mentioned in this fragment.
Clipping from the Evening Post, 11 Oct 1965: a Muslim mob ransacked a suburban Gerwani office, destroying files and burning furniture, after PKI headquarters was burned; Sukarno reportedly gave the Army 'full power'; PNI backs the Army; Saura Islam claims Communist women tried to kidnap Muslim women.
Leeuwarder Courant, 19 October 1965, p. 3: per Radio Jakarta the garrison commander Umar Wirahadikusumah temporarily banned the PKI in Jakarta and its allied organisations, including Sobsi and Gerwani, the latter accused of taking part in the torture and murder of six generals. Army 'cleansing operations' continue; Sub
L'Impartial (La Chaux-de-Fonds), 22 Oct 1965, 'The purge continues in Indonesia' (UPI). Purges in army, public services, education and unions; the Tjakrabirawa guard is nearly cleansed. The military governor of Yogyakarta banned the PKI and affiliated organisations, including the youth front, the women's organisation G
USIA Research and Reference Service report R-158-65 (November 1965), a chronology of the anti-Communist campaign in Indonesia, 1-20 October 1965, built on Indonesian and foreign radio and press. Gerwani entries: Suharto's 4 Oct TV statement linking the generals' murders to Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwani training grounds; NU
The Straits Budget (Singapore), 3 November 1965, p. 15, UPI/Antara: the army declares a state of war in Central Java and gives figures for civilians it says communists massacred (e.g. 62 bodies in three mass graves at Banyuwangi, 104 killed), while observers note the incidents all occurred after the coup. Nothing on Ge
US Consulate Surabaya 'Joint Sitrep 11', 4 November 1965: clean-up raids continue, Blitar a main concern, and Basuki Rachmat's East Java tour sealing off PKI areas. Regional military context of the repression; Gerwani not specifically named.
US Consulate Surabaya Joint Sitrep 17, 24-26 November 1965: the PKI 'being slaughtered by Ansor' across East Java, bodies in rivers, Ludruk actors killed and a 'Holy War' coloration. Graphic contemporary evidence of the East Java killings.
The Hindustan Times, 8 Dec 1965, Dennis Bloodworth (Singapore), 'PKI Debacle I: The Masses Did Not Rise': analysis of why the PKI collapsed after the 1 Oct coup: overrated membership, reliance on Sukarno and on army and air force penetration, no general strike, SOBSI dissolving. It reports Untung's alleged claim that m
The Scotsman, 8 Dec 1965, Dennis Bloodworth, 'Army plans to kill PKI for ever': Suharto and Nasution press to destroy the PKI while Sukarno refuses to ban it; the article analyses the PKI's miscalculations. It repeats the slander that six generals were mutilated by 'doe-eyed girls' of the PKI's 'Gerwani' women's moveme
Evening Post (Wellington), 10 Dec 1965, commentary on the Indonesian Communists after the 30 September coup. It repeats the Lubang Buaya atrocity claim that six generals were 'horribly mutilated by doe-eyed girls' of the PKI's 'Gerwani' women's movement and thrown into a well, with Communist youth dancing at Halim; als
Headline-only clipping 'Sukarno the Key to Any Revolution in Indonesia' from the Evening Post of 10 Dec 1965; no further text. The full article repeats the Gerwani Lubang Buaya claim.
Standfirst clipping of the Evening Post article of 10 Dec 1965: the Indonesian Communists, 'almost overlords yesterday, almost outlaws today', miscalculated their moment, strength and strategy and the determination of the military and Muslims to wipe them out. Gerwani is not named in this fragment.
Clipping from the Evening Post of 10 Dec 1965: says Sukarno could not back the coup because of its brutality, and that six generals were 'horribly mutilated by doe-eyed girls' of the PKI's 'Gerwani' women's movement and thrown into a well, while Communist youth danced at Halim. This is the Lubang Buaya sexual-atrocity
Closing clipping of the Evening Post article of 10 Dec 1965: Nasution's escape over his garden wall and the murder of his five-year-old daughter; alleged PKI plans for arson and famine; the party's 'patriotic' image destroyed; Sukarno forced to appoint Suharto army chief while the Army mops up Communists in Central and
US Consulate Surabaya Joint Sitrep 19, 9 December 1965: Kediri PKI following 'decimated', military 'turning its back' on Muslim killings in Pasuruan, mass dismissal of officials. Regional context; no mention of Gerwani or women.
Armed Forces Information Centre bulletin, 15 Desember 1965. Arrest round-up noting 'a Gerwani' among 61 arrested by Kodam Diponegoro and among 10 by Kodam Brawijaya, with four 'shot dead for fleeing'.
US Embassy Djakarta telegram 1842, Joint Sitrep No. 68 (22 Dec 1965, Secret, sanitized, OCR rough). Reports Sukarno's speeches defending the PKI, including a Mother's Day gathering where he defended the PKI's women's affiliate (Gerwani), Nasution's 'basic guide' for crushing the PKI, the PNI purge, anti-Chinese violenc
US Consulate Surabaya Joint Sitrep 21, 21 December 1965: killings 'ceased' in Pasuruan but the Army quietly hands 10-15 prisoners nightly to Muslims for execution; also Bali and rice shortages. Regional context; no Gerwani content.
US Consulate Surabaya Joint Sitrep 22, 27 December 1965: killings continue more discreetly, NU campaign to 'exterminate PKI' covers East Java, Madiun prisoners delivered to civilians. Regional context; no Gerwani content.
Article by Lucien Rey (New Left Review no. 36, March 1966) reconstructing the 1 October 1965 events as a plot by dissident Central Java officers, plus a translated Asahi Shimbun interview with PKI deputy chair Njoto. Says People's Youth and Gerwani auxiliaries trained at Halim took part in the generals' executions in r
Canberra Times, 15 Apr 1966, p. 10: concluding part of a 'Special Correspondent' account repeating the Lubang Buaya slander. Claims 100 Gerwani women at Halim took razor blades, tortured and mutilated the generals, citing 'Mrs Djamilah' via the Djakarta Mail (15 Nov), singing 'People's Blood'. Adds Nasution escape narr
Canberra Times, 15 Apr 1966, p. 10: concluding part of a 'Special Correspondent' account repeating the Lubang Buaya slander. Claims 100 Gerwani women at Halim took razor blades, tortured and mutilated the generals, citing 'Mrs Djamilah' via the Djakarta Mail (15 Nov), singing 'People's Blood'. Adds Nasution escape narr
Xinhua report in Renmin Ribao (19 Apr 1966, p. 4) of a 13 April communiqué by the Thai Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Committee condemning Indonesia's military and 'reactionaries': 78,500 killed and 106,000 arrested per the Fact-Finding Commission in Bali, Java and North Sumatra; bans on Pemuda Rakyat, CGMI, Gerwani, B
The Scotsman, 29 Oct 1966, 'Not the old Subandrio': profile of Sukarno's former foreign minister, condemned to death by a military tribunal for treason and bearing 'heavy responsibility for the rise of the PKI'. It traces his career and notes he is a scapegoat the Suharto regime can blame while Sukarno is retained for
Leeuwarder Courant, 24 May 1967, p. 1: front-page background column on the persecution of ethnic Chinese in Indonesia after 1965, citing camps in Medan, roundups in Borneo, closed Chinese schools in East Java, and the mass killings of communists and suspects in which Chinese families died. The tone is stereotyping. Ger
HathiTrust FBIS Daily Report extract (29 Mar 1968). It reports the arrest on 22-23 March of Mrs Suharti Suwarto, called Gerwani deputy chairman and head of the PKI women's division, and her husband Subarto, alleged to have posed as a religious teacher among Muslims. It places them in 'Operation Kalong', with about 300
Berita Yudha, 18 Maret 1968. Operation Sambar Raga in Surabaya (Jan–13 Mar 1968) arrested 79 members and leaders of CC PKI, SOBSI, Gerwani, Pemuda Rakyat and CGMI, alleged to be organised in a 'Tri Komando Kota'.
FBIS Daily Report (24 Jul 1968) relaying Antara: Madame Sri Sukatno, described as a woman communist leader, was arrested at Pasiraman, South Blitar, in a mopping-up operation, per the army paper Angkatan Bersendjata. She is called a Politburo member, head of the Central Committee section on armed peasants and a Pemuda
Izvestiia, 15 Aug 1968, p. 2, TASS citing Antara: about 850 members of the banned PKI arrested in East Java, including six Central Committee members; the chairwoman of Gerwani has also been arrested. A fragment 'Sukatno' follows the sentence but cannot reliably be attached to her.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 16 Agustus 1968. Operasi Trisula commander Col. Witarmin reports the PKI underground in South Blitar crushed and lists captured leaders including five women, among them Nj. Gatot Sutarjo, 'chair of Gerwani'.
Duta Masjarakat, 19 Agustus 1968. Antara report on Operasi Trisula in South Blitar: 30 PKI 'big fish' captured, ten from Jakarta, said to be members of the 'CC and CDB PKI/Gerwani'; resisters 'sent to the hereafter'.
Berita Yudha, 27 Agustus 1968. First instalment of 'Mengungkap petualangan P.K.I. Gaja Baru di Djatim' with a photo captioned 'Gerwani members of East Java hit by Operasi Trisula', naming Nj. Kartini as East Java Gerwani chair.
Berita Yudha, 30 Agustus 1968. Instalment IV of 'PKI Gaja Baru di Djatim': portrays Nj. Kartini, 'Gerwani deputy chair before G30S', disguised as a poor village woman and training cadres in forest 'schools'.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 5 September 1968: 'Bupati Kediri direcall'. The Kediri regent, a police lieutenant colonel, is recalled because his wife was 'cultivated very successfully by the Gerwani figure Nafsiah'; police say they never rehabilitate those implicated in G30S.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 10 September 1968. Editorial defends the Brawijaya commander's instruction requiring East Java parties and mass organisations to screen members, publish names of those implicated in 'Gestapu-PKI' and have boards military-approved.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 11 September 1968. Kediri labour-office head Djatmiko arrested for allegedly hosting 'Gerwani ringleader Nafsijjah' during Operasi Trisula; the regent's wife Surjati detained.
Berita Yudha, 11 September 1968: 'Adjudan Gubernur Djatim diamankan!'. After Operasi Trisula, six arrested in Kediri 'in connection with Gerwani ringleader Nafsijah', including labour-office head Djatmiko in whose house she allegedly stayed.
New York Times, 27 Oct 1968, p.5, Terence Smith from Jakarta: Sukarno lives under house arrest at Bogor and was interrogated in Sept-Oct 1968 about clandestine contacts with former associates, after Communists captured in the Blitar operations (2,000 killed or captured, including PKI chairman Oloan Hutapea) implicated
RAND memorandum RM-5753-PR (Feb 1969), Guy J. Pauker, 'The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Indonesia'. Argues, from trial records, that Aidit planned the 30 September action against the generals and traces PKI strategy, the Chinese turn, the agrarian 'unilateral actions' and the killings (up to 300,000), and th
Roger Paget's 1970 Cornell PhD thesis on how student and youth action groups, culminating in KAMI, emerged after 1 October 1965 and helped undermine Sukarno. Gerwani appears in several passages: action fronts demanded its banning (p. 44) and its offices were ransacked (p. 63); Herlina denounced it for not fighting Mala
Journal article by Reuven Kahane (Contributions to Asian Studies, vol. 5, 1974) giving a structural-sociological explanation of the 1965 coup and army dominance in Indonesia: religious-class polarisation, failing Sukarno-era control mechanisms, and the army's rise. Gerwani appears only in a footnote listing PKI-affilia
Critical review by Justus M. van der Kroef (Asian Affairs, Nov 1976) of the CIA's declassified 1968 report 'Indonesia-1965: The Coup That Backfired'. Takes issue with the CIA's claim that Lubang Buaya victims were not mutilated and that Gerwani/Pemuda Rakyat confessions were Army-contrived, quoting Gerwani member Djami
TAPOL Bulletin no. 15, April 1976. Editorial links East Timor killings to the 1965-66 massacres; the issue devotes pages to a mimeographed East Java massacre report and to translated fictional accounts (Gestapu: Indonesian Short Stories, ed. Harry Aveling). Gerwani appears incidentally: victims included members of the
TAPOL Bulletin no. 21, April 1977 (London). Covers the ICRC mission to seven Indonesian detention sites, Carter and human rights, East Timor testimony, Kopkamtib detention legality, official denials and the May elections. It prints a smuggled letter from a Salemba tapol to the Red Cross describing starvation, beri-beri
TAPOL Bulletin no. 28 (London, June 1978): arms sales and Mondale's visit, 1978 student crackdown (Yogyakarta), W.S. Rendra's arrest, conditions of the 1977 releases, psychotests of detainees, the Latief trial. A letter from an East Java ex-prisoner describes the 'bon' killings of 1966–69 and a Malang women's prison ho
Journal article by Coen Holtzappel (Journal of Contemporary Asia, 1979) analysing the Untung and Njono trial records to argue the 30 September Movement was steered by Air Force and Army intelligence, with Sjam's Pringgodani group deliberately compromising the PKI and Aidit. Gerwani is mentioned only once, in a footnote
British FCO file FCO 15/2701 (1980), 'Political detainees in Indonesia': Amnesty International's April 1980 letter and memorandum to the UK government before the IGGI meeting, on release of B-category prisoners, restrictions on ex-detainees, missing persons and unfair A-category trials, plus TAPOL Bulletin extracts (No
TAPOL Bulletin no. 54 (London, Nov 1982), 24 pages, mostly on West Papua, East Timor, Borobudur and military law. Its 'Spotlight on Two Tapols' profiles Napsiah, a veteran of Pesindo/Perwari who joined the PKI in 1949, helped build Gerwani in East Java and sat on the PKI East Java committee. Arrested in 1968 after the
De Waarheid item (21 Aug 1985, p.3) profiling death-row PKI prisoners Djoko Untung and Gatot Sutarjo, sentenced at Blitar on 2 Jan 1976, with Suharto rejecting clemency. Untung's wife Natsia, a known East Java Gerwani member, was arrested in 1968 and still imprisoned; Sutarjo's wife Poedji Aswati was jailed for 15 year
Harian Neraca, 25 Maret 1989, p. 10: instalment 70 of Soegiarso Soerojo's serial. Surveys October–November 1965 violence and Suharto's 10 Nov 1965 'Seruan', with crowd attacks in Aceh and Sumatra on the PKI and Gerwani.
Harian Neraca, 8 April 1989, p. 10: instalment 82 of Soegiarso Soerojo's serial. October 1965: the PKI camp, explicitly including Gerwani, welcoming Sukarno's Bogor address; Presidium instruction of 20 Oct 1965 to freeze organisations and dismiss officials.
De Waarheid piece (2 Sep 1989, p.16) criticising Suharto's silence on the 1965-66 massacres, quoting Stanley Karnow and C.L. Sulzberger on the killings and estimates of 300,000 to one million dead. It notes mass arrests without trial of hundreds of thousands, including members of SOBSI, Gerwani and Pemuda Rakjat, and t
The Guardian (Weekend Guardian), 8 Sept 1990, p.A4, John Gittings, 'The black hole of Bali': long feature on the 1965 massacre (250,000 or more killed), how the killings were organised by the army under Suharto, the Aidit/PKI role, the US list of communists (Martens/Kadane) and US encouragement, survivors ('Tapols') an
TAPOL Bulletin no. 101 (London, Oct 1990), covering West Papuan border raids, Suharto's 'de-Suharto-ization', new litsus screening rules, Petisi 50 and East Timor at the UN. A page on US embassy collusion reproduces Kathy Kadane's May 1990 interview with ex-deputy chief Jack Lydman about embassy-compiled PKI name lists
Iwan Gardono Sudjatmiko's 1992 Harvard sociology PhD thesis compares East Java and Bali to explain the PKI's destruction after 1965, arguing that it followed from the party's 1963 revolutionary strategy and that violence depended on public figures, army units and PKI size. It covers mobilisation, land reform and local
Hermawan Sulistyo's 1997 Arizona State history PhD, 'The Forgotten Years', studies the 1965-66 killings in Jombang-Kediri, East Java, from interviews and documents, finding no single national pattern and stressing local conflict and military-backed operations. Gerwani appears in passing: its claimed 1.75 million member
Analisa (Medan), 19 June 1997, p. 1: Religious Affairs Minister Tarmizi Taher claims a domestic worker causing religious unrest was 'a member of Gerwani/PKI' and links the PRD to riots; Gerwani used as a scare label.
South China Sunday Morning Post, 27 Sep 1998, p.8, Jenny Grant: after Suharto's fall, historians and politicians call for a reassessment of the 1965 coup and killings; the government has dropped compulsory screening of the New Order propaganda film. The article repeats that members of 'the communist women's organisatio
South China Morning Post, 17 July 1999, p.37, Marian Wilkinson (Sydney Morning Herald), 'Killing off the communists': newly released US embassy and CIA cables show US officials encouraging the army's anti-PKI campaign in Oct-Nov 1965, urging anti-PKI propaganda that links 'diabolical murder and mutilation of the genera
TAPOL Bulletin no. 169/170 (Jan/Feb 2003), with Carmel Budiardjo's obituary of Sulami (pp. 13-15). Born Sragen 15 Aug 1926, she joined Gerwis (Gerwani from 1951), became East Java executive member (1954) and second deputy secretary-general (1957), attended WIDF meetings, and was deputy secretary-general in 1965. Arrest
Katharine McGregor's 2009 article on NU's support for the 1965-66 killings (e.g. its 5 Oct 1965 call to ban the PKI, Gerwani and others), their celebration under the New Order and Syarikat's post-1998 reconciliation work. Context on religious-organisation role.
Okezone feature (1 Oct 2011) on Putmainah, then 83, former Gerwani chair for Blitar Regency and PKI legislator, covering her Islamic and leftist family background, Pesindo past, flight after the 1965 coup and later life. Biographical testimony of a regional Gerwani leader.
Tempo testimony (1 Oct 2012) of 'AM', 70, a former Ansor/Banser member who took part in night-time 'drop-dropan' killings of village-level PKI leaders in Badas and Pare (Jombang-Kediri), Oct-Nov 1965. He says he felt no pity and left bodies unburied, justifying his hatred by PKI land reform actions. Gerwani is not ment
Tempo testimony (1 Oct 2012) of Chambali, 70, former Banser chief of Rengel, Tuban, who describes beheading PKI members at Jurang Watu Rongko in 1965-66 on lists from the district office and military, encouraged by NU leader Kiai Murtadji. Recalls sparing one man who recited the creed. Tempo adds a note on the ravine's
Long Tempo feature (1 Oct 2012) on Kediri and Probolinggo killings: Ansor/Banser, Lirboyo santri led by Gus Maksum and army units, from the 13 Oct 1965 rally and the burning of the PKI office, using 'drop' trucks from Koramil, with the Kanigoro (Jan 1965) background. Testimony of Abdul Malik and Haji SY. Gerwani is not
Tempo report (1 Oct 2012) on Banyuwangi: the 'Gagak Hitam' force of NU/PNI members hunted communists after 62 Ansor were killed at Cemethuk (commemorated at the Pancasila Jaya monument, called Lubang Buaya Cemethuk). Testimony of Baidawi and ex-Lekra secretary Andang Chatif Yusuf; bodies thrown into Jurang Tangis. Gerw
Tempo profile (1 Oct 2012) of Supardi, 71, a Tulungagung silat fighter recruited by Ansor as an executioner in 1965, who later developed a mental disorder and has been shackled by his family for about 30 years. Account from his brother Marjuni and sister. Gerwani is not mentioned.
Tempo report (1 Oct 2012) on killing sites in Lumajang (Pandanwangi, Curah Mayit, Srebet) and Magetan (Puhrancang well, Gangsiran forest), with testimony from Ansor/Banser participants and villagers. Notes NU leaders called it jihad, army backing, and that many victims were not PKI. Gerwani is not mentioned.
Tempo report (1 Oct 2012) on the Mlancu massacre (Kediri-Jombang border), where about 700 alleged PKI were killed in November 1965, drawing on Hermawan Sulistyo's research and witnesses. Presents PKI land reform, ludruk plays and 'Seven Village Demons' lists as roots of tension with kiai and NU/Ansor. Mentions the Peng
Vannessa Hearman's 2013 article on memories 'under duress', from interviews with over thirty ex-prisoners: screening and stigma forced concealment, name changes and silence; Gerwani appears via 'Leila' and 'Tuti' and Sukarno-era WIDF internationalism. Oral history methodology.
Rachmi Larasati's 2013 introduction and chapter on how the New Order erased the dancing bodies of women labelled 'Gerwani' after 1965 and replaced them with state-trained 'clean' dancers performing the same traditions as national heritage. Autoethnographic study of dance and genocide.
PhD dissertation in History (UCLA, 2014) by Dahlia Gratia Setiyawan on U.S. anti-communist operations and the 1965-66 purge in Surabaya. Gerwani appears in context: as the PKI's women's affiliate (ch. 1), through the Surabaya women's coalition GOWS in the 27 September 1965 Grahadi demonstration (ch. 4), and in the Army
Martha Stroud's 2015 UC Berkeley/UCSF medical-anthropology dissertation, based on fieldwork in Yogyakarta (2010-12), examines how the 1965-66 killings shape daily life through propaganda, surveillance, stigma, silence and justice. Gerwani appears mainly as the object of New Order propaganda: the Lubang Buaya mutilation
Tempo.co profile (2 Oct 2015, by Bobby Chandra) of Putmainah, 77, former Gerwani chair and PKI faction member of the Blitar DPRD, now stroke-afflicted in Pakisrejo, Srengat. Her husband Subandi, Blitar Front Nasional and DPRD head, was killed after a PKI congress; she fled into the forest with seven children. Once a re
Tempo.co obituary (25 May 2016, Abdul Djalil Hakim) of Putmainah, 90, former Blitar Gerwani chair and DPRD-GR member for the PKI faction, called the last Gerwani branch head. It covers her family background (father a Red Sarekat Islam leader killed at Madiun 1948), ties to Sukarno's family, and mourners including a Ban
Hearman's 2020 article reconstructing the 1982-92 letters between ex-Gerwani militant Pudji Aswati, imprisoned for subversion, and English Quaker author Patricia Cleveland-Peck, showing how befriending became a transnational activist network. Rare transnational Gerwani prisoner correspondence.
2022 article by a Universitas Jember team on ex-political prisoners in South Blitar 1968-2000: weekly reporting, loss of civil rights (1.58 million excluded from the 1982 election), the 'ET' ID code and bans on marrying soldiers. Context on post-release control.
Grace Leksana's 2023 open-access monograph on Donomulyo, South Malang, a 'red area' with a 'hamlet of widows', using army archives and 38 life histories to argue memory of 1965 is 'embedded' in local patronage and class. Local study of remembering.