In 1944, the United States War Department published a small but detailed booklet titled Pocket Guide to the Netherlands East Indies. Produced as part of a broader series of cultural guides for American troops deployed overseas, this 80 pages booklet was designed to familiarise servicemen with the geography, people, customs, and political structure of the Dutch colony then under Japanese occupation.
The guide opens with a concise explanation of the colony’s importance: “The Netherlands East Indies, sometimes called the Dutch East Indies, stretch in a long arc below the equator and above Australia.” It offers a simplified overview of the region’s ethnic diversity—Malays, Javanese, Chinese, Arabs, and Dutch colonials—emphasising the colonial hierarchy and the growing political consciousness among the Indigenous populations. The guide also notes the region’s economic value, particularly its oil, rubber, and tin resources, which had made it a strategic prize in the Pacific War.
What makes the guide especially notable is the balance it tries to strike: it both respects the Dutch colonial framework (referring to the NEI as an ally under occupation) and prepares American soldiers to interact with a culturally complex, war-torn society. It includes practical advice on behaviour—avoid offending local customs, understand the role of Islam, respect Dutch authority—and explains the pre-war political tensions that might shape local attitudes toward both the Dutch and the Japanese.
Illustrated with maps and printed in a pocket-sized format, the guide was intended for field use—simple, direct, and accessible to the average soldier. Like other War Department cultural briefings, its purpose was twofold: to reduce friction between American forces and local populations, and to support effective military cooperation with allied forces—in this case, the Dutch.
Strategic links to Australia
Although the booklet does not mention Australia directly, its connection to the Australian war effort—and in particular, to Brisbane—was significant. By 1944, American forces were deeply engaged in the Southwest Pacific campaign, using Australia as a major staging ground. Brisbane was the headquarters of General Douglas MacArthur and the Allied command, and also the location of Camp Columbia, which housed the Netherlands East Indies government-in-exile and Dutch military units.
American forces based in Australia would have had a clear operational need for cultural and political understanding of the NEI, particularly as joint missions were planned to liberate the occupied islands. The Pocket Guide would have been a valuable tool in this context.
While no formal record confirms the guide’s distribution in Australia, it is highly likely that it was used by American personnel stationed there, especially those preparing for missions involving cooperation with Dutch forces or re-entry into the NEI.
Similarly, while the booklet does not cite its sources, the level of cultural and administrative detail suggests input from Dutch colonial and military experts. By 1944, Dutch intelligence and civil service officers were already working closely with American and Australian counterparts, especially through bodies like the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration (NICA) and the Allied Intelligence Bureau (AIB) in Brisbane. It is therefore very likely that Dutch knowledge—whether through direct consultation or existing documentation—informed the War Department’s publication.
