Sometimes when I am researching family lines from the Netherlands, I wonder: what happened to the descendants of my ancestor’s siblings during the World Wars? I have particularly wondered that about WWII, maybe because my parents were alive during that war and because I know more about it than WWI.
I never expected to discover any information.
Until I was contacted by Peter Mulder from the Netherlands! He has the same name as my mother’s Uncle Pete who I knew as a smiling man and a farmer. He also has the same name as my great-great-grandfather who immigrated to the U.S. I wrote about that Pieter Mulder finding himself an orphan after the death of his father and about his move across the ocean.
This Peter Mulder has graciously supplied me with a story of what happened to my great-great-grandfather’s half-brother, Jan Mulder.
After the death of my Pieter’s mother, Karel Mulder (my 3rd great-grandfather) married Klazina Otte, and had two sons with her: Cornelis and Jan. Actually, there were many children, but sadly the rest died as infants. Karel passed away on 22 April 1881 and his children by my 3rd great-grandmother Johanna were dispersed into jobs and the orphanage.
Klazina was left to care for her two sons. Eventually, in 1904, she moved with her sons to Apeldoorn. She would have been about 63, and she died on 8 November 1922 in Apeldoorn.
Cornelis, who was born 1 September 1872, was a tailor. He married Hendrika Jonker (born 07 May 1876), and they moved their family to Utrecht on 30 July 1928.
Jan, who happens to be the grandfather of Peter Mulder, was born on 20 December 1876. By profession, he was a hairdresser.
Jan married Petertje van Baak. Interestingly, the witnesses at the wedding were Cornelis Mulder, his brother, and Izaak Mulder, his half-brother (Pieter’s older brother). I believe this shows that the children of Karel Mulder had remained close although the family was torn apart (as far as living arrangements) by his death.
Jan and Petertje wedding photo
6 October 1904
Jan and Petertje had three children:
Klazina Petronella Mulder, born 06 February 1905 and died 28 April 1994
Teunis Jan Mulder, born 20 May 1907
Izaak Mulder, born 23 January 1913 and died 14 December 1980
Izaak is Peter’s father.
Teunis, Nellie, Izaak
On November 1, 1929, Jan immigrated to Soerabaja/Soerabaia, now called Surabaya, which is the capital of Jawa Timur (East Java). Indonesia was part of the Dutch East Indies. Jan left his wife and three children behind. In 1936, the couple divorced, but he kept in contact with his children.
Jan enjoyed his life in Soerabaja. He had his own hairdresser business and played music in an orchestra. He played bass, violin, and flute.
In winter/spring of 1942, the Japanese invaded and took over Java. At that time, it was necessary for all Dutch people to register with the Japanese. After that, Jan was held in the Ambarawa internment camp for several years. The living conditions were poor and deteriorated as time went on. Peter believes that almost 13,000 people died there during that period–including Jan Mulder, Peter’s grandfather, and the half-brother of my great-great-grandfather. He was 65 years old. I can’t imagine the difficulties he must have endured in his last years.
The Family Kalamazoo 
Great story and pictures!
Elly, I was thrilled that Peter contacted me with the story and pix!
Elly, just to let you know I added the instruments Jan played, the name of the internment camp, and a couple of dates for the passing of Jan’s children.
How wonderful that you’ve been able to learn all of this! How did Peter find you—through the blog? It certainly is one of the most valuable and unexpected (for me) benefits of blogging!
Yes, through the blog. It’s absolutely astounding how many people have found me through the blog. This particular story really touched me because I had always wondered about the war and also because of the image of treasure Peter also emailed me. Can’t wait to share it. (No hints haha)
Looking forward to it!
Amy, I added the instruments Jan played, the name of the internment camp, and a couple of dates for the passing of Jan’s children
Glad Peter was able to find you and provide such good information! I love how you tell your story!
Thank you so much, Andy. I just added a few more pieces of information from Peter, including the instruments Jan played and the name of the internment camp: Ambarawa.
Is it a new post or did you update the current post?
I updated the current one by just editing and adding those 2 things, plus the dates two of Jan’s children passed away.
You said you can’t imagine the difficulties Jan endured, and it is probably just as well.
I recently read a book written by an Englishman who was in a Japanese camp, and it is pretty grim reading. Robert Weintraub had adopted a dog in China, whom he named Judy, and the dog stayed with him throughout his captivity. The name of the book was “No Better Friend”, and tells of Judy’s remarkable skills in finding water and food for the prisoners, as well as both warning them of an approaching guard and making herself scarce when necessary. She even managed to stow away on a ship by instinctively hiding in his duffel bag.
He speaks of the horrors they endured and the comfort Judy brought to all of the men. You’ll enjoy reading it, I’m sure.
Lady Anne, thank you so much for the information about the book. It sounds like one I would “enjoy” (hard to work that without sounding terrible). Thanks for reading my post today!
I had forgotten about this book recommendation, but i just ordered it for my Kindle. Thank you!
How great to find out all that information–fascinating!
Ms Marjori, Thank you so much for stopping by! Such an amazing story, I agree!
Oh darn… I thought this was going to be about the X-Files… but it was still interesting… 😉
More realistic and frightening than the X-Files!
The book that Lady Anne talks about sure sounds interesting — I did a search on yahoo and got lots of hits. I will have to put it on my reading list.
I already put it on my Goodreads to-read list!
How wonderful that Peter could find you, get in touch and share information and memories. This connection and sharing is one of the things I really love about blogging. The stories to come out of Japanese internment camps in WWII are harrowing and heart-breaking. I have a friend whose mother, now in her 90s, was a child in a camp in Indonesia. Amazingly, my friend’s grandparents both also survived — albeit in different camps. I’ve been told that if liberation had come even a few weeks later, they would probably all have been dead of starvation and/or disease.
Sometimes it is just those few weeks that make a difference. They say that is the case with Anne Frank–that the concentration camp was liberated just weeks later. I am thrilled that Peter found me! It pays to do regular Google searches on your family surnames, too!
Thank you Luanne (and Peter) for sharing all the information.Does Peter know when his grandfather died ?
Wow, he sure had a fascinating life. It’s really sad that he died in an internment camp.
He did have an interesting life, but it’s so disturbing to see how it ended. Such a tragedy for him and so many.
Hi there. It’s nice to read about my ancestors. I’m the son of Peter. Special to hear from him that you have found each other through the Internet so that you can exchange information.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Robert. Nice to meet you!
My mother and father refered to “Aunt” Carrie. In looking back I remember them talking about Aunt Carrie. They were wealthy enough to go to Fla. for vacation (how often, I will check with my bro. Dick (Richard).
Thanks, Ed. Let me know what he says.
Such wonderful pictures!!
Yes, they really are, and I love the story. Check out the letter I posted today that Peter sent me!
I will!
Wonderful photos and story! I love that you’re finding all this missing history through great detective work. 🙂
Haha, well, in this case and in so many, the best just fell into my lap, courtesy of Peter!
I enjoy reading your blog, particularly because your family and mine have many similarities. My family name is Blankevoort, and we have the names Cornelis, Teunis, Petronella. I have always been fascinated by these Dutch names. My grandfather’s sister, Tante Margarita, as we called her, was in a Japanese concentration camp in Bandung. It is very interesting to read your parallel story. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Laura, you are right–our families share those Dutch first names! Did Tante Margarita survive the camp? Did you hear stories about it? So sad what they went through!
Yes, she did, and I was lucky enough to hear the stories directly from her. Yes, it IS so sad what they went through. All those people who suffered such atrocities were so incredibly strong.
Quite a story!! I love all the pictures too!
Oh, I do too! And, yes, it’s an amazing story. How can we not be fascinated to see nameless, faceless people in history given their own individual stories? And when you get photos to boot–even better!
[…] Peter Mulder has discovered more information about his grandfather, Jan Mulder, through the Red Cross war archive. Jan is the Mulder who died in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in WWII. Read about it in The Story of a Mulder in Indonesia. […]
My family are descendents of a Mulder family from The Netherlands who lived in Indonesia (originally from The Hague) who were forced out and back to the Netherlands at this very same time. Do you happen to have more information on this? My grandmother was Carla Mulder who later married Rudy Karreman in Holland in the late 1940s (later immigrated to Philadelphia, Pa)
Any further information would be great!
HI Paul! I forwarded your question on to Peter Mulder to see if he has any information. Do you know town or city or area of Netherlands your family was from originally–before Indonesia?
Hello, I’m the son (Alan Karreman) of Carla Mulder and Rudy Karreman. My parents immigrated to The Hague, Netherlands from Indonesia and Immigrated to the United States, (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) June 1959. Any information you can share would be greatly appreciated.
Hi my name is Julian Karreman son of Alan Karreman and grandson of Rudy and Carla Karreman I was the one that found it and shared it with my family.
I hope that Paul sees this message!
Luanne,
This is my uncle and cousin. Clearly, we have not communicated on how we saw the site! But we are very close already!
May I imagine that I have been looking for the Karreman family for years, and I am looking for information about Rudy Karreman and Carla Mulder. Coincidentally, I came across this information. can you put me in touch with a family member. I myself come from the Netherlands my site is http://gkarreman.nl
like to hear from you. Gillis Karreman