A Dutch Soldier Checking Identity of Jakarta Residents, 1948

Photo: Anefo/Atlas van Stolk

World War II really changed the course of history, including the elimination of colonial powers from Asia and Africa. European colonial countries that had long been entrenched in Asia and Africa were forced to leave because they were no longer relevant, and the big gong for it was World War II.

The Japanese invasion in 1941 enabled the uprooting of Dutch rule in Indonesia that had lasted for hundreds of years. And when Japan finally lost the war, Indonesia, like other colonies, was fed up and reluctant to return to being controlled by the invaders.

The Indonesian people swiftly proclaimed independence when the Japanese power was gone and the Dutch had not yet returned to Indonesia. The Dutch, who did not accept this, finally carried out military aggression in Indonesian territory.

The photo above is one of the relics of the Dutch military aggression II, a Dutch soldier was checking the identity of Jakarta residents in December 1948. The Dutch attempted to return to power in Indonesia was futile, colonialism has lost its place in world history. The Netherlands finally left Indonesia at the end of 1949.