1945 was a historical moment in Indonesia where Indonesian fought for its Independence. And that year, after years of colonialism from the dutch and the Japanese, Indonesia became an independent country. However, the fight continued until 1949 where the dutch was still attempting another occupation under a military offensive operation called "Politionele acties”. Interestingly, I heard wartime stories from someone who lived under that and fought during 1947 where the dutch did the Politionele acties. That someone is my paternal grandfather who served under a military branch called Students’ Army which consists of students who joined the fight for independence. And as a kid, whenever we passed through a museum called “Museum Brawijaya”, my dad or uncles often pointed out the tanks displayed around the museum and told me, “ your grandfather fought to seize that tank”. I didn’t understand as a kid but just thought it was cool. Now that I have visited the museum and realized everything, I have more admiration for my late grandfather.
As a kid, I often went with my grandparents to meetings of veterans from the student’s army. I didn’t know it was significant until I learned about the history. The student’s army was disbanded in 1951 and my grandfather chose to become an accountant rather than going into the military continuing his career. After learning about the tank, there were 35 Indonesian warriors who died but my grandfather survived to tell me some tales during his wartime, that as a kid, I thought they were just bedtime stories.
Now, I am going to take you on a tour of a museum called “Museum Brawijaya” in which it is one of a few military museums in Indonesia. This museum is a mid-sized museum located in Jl. Besar Ijen Malang, East Java Indonesia. The entrance fee in this museum is 5000 IDR/person. This museum displays weapons, pictures, and tools that were used during 1945 to 1976. This museum is managed by Indonesia's army and when you go there, you will meet army officers who are cleaning the weapons and the area. If you are history and military buff, this post is definitely for you as you will see interesting weapons that are crafted mostly from the US and were seized by the Indonesian army during the war.
Let’s Go!
The Park
The first part of the museum is the park. There are tanks and cannon displayed and is surrounded by beds of flowers. You can hangout around this place and it’s free of charge. By the way, this is the article that I consulted to help me recall all the things I've seen MUSEUM BRAWIJAYA. That article has a complete directory of the canon and the tank's name that is available in the museum. However, during this post, I will also show you a small description of the text that I managed to capture during my visit. These are the tanks and the canons that you will see when you visit the park section of this museum.
The Lobby
Before you get to the lobby, there will be a pool of water lilies. And just next to the gate, there are the tanks that my dad and uncles referred to. It’s called Amfibi AM Track where it was seized by the student’s army. My grandpa was part of it and sadly to seize that tank, 35 of the warriors died.
Before getting to the ticketing booth, there is a statue of an army General called Sudirman. On the left side there will be the ticketing which is a simple table and is attended by an army officer. Then, you will see an old car that belongs to one of the general’s.
On the wall there is a relief of the Majapahit and Hongi boats which were significant symbols of glory for ancient Indonesia. I visited Majapahit museum last year but I don’t think I shared it here. I could tell you as much that in the lobby, it feels quite eerie. And once you go to the 1st room, it becomes even more eerie. Now, let me take you to the first room.
First Room
In the first room, there is a display of various wartime weapons, pictures, paintings, and medical supplies that are gathered from all over east java. Once again, this museum is displaying weapons that are found across east java. Entering this room, I could feel something more than eerie but there was a pang of sadness, misery, and pain. I felt uneasy exploring this place alone. But thankfully there was my mom and grandma accompanying me.
What interests me the most is the display of medical supplies. There is a bandage made of banana leaves. Those medical supplies and tools belong to a doctor named Harjono who died during a battle in Krian, east java.
In this room, you will also see displays of bird messengers who were part of communication during 1946.
The paintings and pictures in this building really tell the darkest time of Indonesia. It tells more tales and illustrates vividly the pain and struggle during those years. It feels uneasy looking at the pictures.
Then before going to the display of weaponry, there is a communication device that was used during that time. I find the device strange and briefly understood how it works based on war movies I’ve seen.
The weapons in this room are also interesting. It is displayed with its name and its manufactures. Though some are manufactured in Italy, Japan, a lot of the weapons are manufactured in NY, USA. However, Indonesian had one arsenal which was located in Kediri East java but the weapons were made with limited tools and parts from electrical parts.
In this first room, there is also money that was circulating in indonesia during the Japanese occupation.
At the end of the tour in the first room, there is some remnant from one of the greatest generals of Indonesia, Sudirman. My mom really liked the quotes from him which were also displayed on the wall.
The Second Room
In the second room there are exhibition remnants from 1950 to 1976. During these years the enemy aren’t form foreign countries but terrorist from within. One of the most notable civil wars was because of the insurgency of communism in Indonesia. In this place there is a display of war happening in west Papua as well. So, in the second room is essentially a more modern display and the struggle that the country faced five years after independence.
If you are a geek, I think you’ll love the display of IBM computers. These are the old “computers” that were used for accounting.
There's also musical instruments display that was used by the Indonesian army.
End of The Tour
Though the second room isn’t the end of the tour, I didn’t get to another part, the outside part that stores the carriage that carried war prisoners. We were running out of time and had to go to another place before attending my cousins’ wedding. So, before bidding goodbye to the museum, I managed to capture some water lilies. These water lilies hopefully help you feel more relaxed after some intense display of weaponry.
Truthfully, inside the place, I felt rather uneasy and it was chilling. I don’t usually feel that way even when I visit a museum full of ancient weaponry and things. But that museum was rather different. There’s a feeling I couldn’t explain in words and I really don’t recommend you to visit this place alone. I’d advise anyone to be accompanied by anyone, even if it’s the tour guide from the place. The next place I visited is really cool and you should stay tuned for that one.
I hope you like this virtual mini tour! Let me know in the comment section if you enjoy it.
Mac's Pinmapple Travel List
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 | Mac is a jack of all trades. A typical introvert in love with literature, books, technology and philosophy. She is also so into nootropics, productivity, minimalist lifestyle, cybersecurity, and languages. Other than that, she is passionate about cooking and traveling. In her free time, she enjoys learning various things. If you like her content, don't hesitate to upvote, leave a comment or a feedback. A re-blog is also appreciated. |