Towards a Global Social History
Asian Collections at the International Institute of Social History (IISH)
Ever since the IISH was set up in 1935, the Institute's thematic emphasis has been on social and emancipatory movements. In the first instance, the IISH was interested in labour movements in all their facets, gradually on utopians, feminists, student activists, and squatters have also become the focus of IISH acquisition activities.
by Emile Schwidder
Just before the outbreak of World War II, the Institute succeeded in rescuing numerous threatened collections of the international labour and trade union movement from Nazi Germany, Austria, and Spain. Among the most important collections acquired in this period were the papers of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the Bakunin manuscripts, and the records of the Spanish anarcho-syndicalist trades union.After the war, the IISH continued to pursue its rescue activities in Europe and it remained an indispensable repository for the archives and libraries of persecuted persons and organizations. Reflecting Asia's enlarged role on the world stage, both economically and politically, the IISH's interest in saving material and in research hasnow extended beyond Europe. In the 1980s, IISH staff sought a safe haven for the collections of Turkish political parties, trades union, and individuals. Established in 1987, the IISH Turkey Section, which has now broadened its scope and developed into a Middle East section, has already assembled an impressive collectioin on specific themes: political oppsition, trades union, living conditions of the working class, and labour migration. In late 1993, the IISH extended its activities beyond the eastern boundary of Turkey to include Iran, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Since then the newly founded section has acquired several collections from Iran and the Caucasus.
Another example of the rescue operations run by IISH concerns the unique documentation from the Chinese democratic movement in the spring of 1989. Participants in the events at the T'ienanmen Square in Beijing collected this material with the assistance of IISH staff members on the spot. This Chinese People's Movement Collection of pamphlets, posters, photographs, newspapers, and the like has found a refuge in the IISH.
In 1996, the IISH finally decided to foreground Asia in its activities and established an Asia Department. In addition to Southeast Asia (Indonesia) and East Asia (China) - both long-standing interests of the IISH - South Asia has been selected as an area of special interest. Since its founding in 1996 the IISH Asia Department has already acquired several collections from Bangladesh. Among these is a large collection of political and cultural periodicals in Bengali and English, covering the period since the 1940s. The IISH also received a unique collection of political pamphlets and posters, produced by students in Dhaka in the 1970s. Recently the IISH has had a growing interest in material on Burmese social history as well as current affairs. The idea is to rescue material which may otherwise get lost or be damaged. The IISH is also building up a library of publications in whatever language on Burma and is keen to subscribe to magazines and newspapers. Oral history projects on Asia in which the IISH Asia Department is involved deal with topics such as Indonesians left in exile ( In Search of Silenced Voices) and ex-tapols or political prisoners (Taporal). The IISH collections on modern Asian history comprise archive, library, and audio-visual material (including a unique collection of Chinese posters). All visitors have free access to the reading room, the loan desk, and catalogues.
Recent acquisitions
A selection of important acquisitions during the period 1996-1999 including:
- on South Asia:
- Charu Majumdar: letters from prison by Charu Majumdar, the leader of the Communist Party of India (1963-66);
- Communist Party of India (Marxist - Leninist): periodicals, leaflets, buttons, calendars, and photographs;
- Communist Party of Bangladesh: collection of minutes, reports, and circulars;
- Naxalbari Movement: video interviews with participants and leaders of the 1967 uprising;
- Mandi-Garo collection;
- Chittagong Hill Tracts Collection;
- Bengal Oral History Project: video interviews with key figures in various progressive movements in 20th century Bengal;
- Progressive Movement in Pakistan Collection (1918-1998);
- on Southeast Asia (Indonesia):
- Poncke Princen archive;
- Oei Tjoe Tat (minister and Soekarno's advisor) archive;
- Suparna Sastradiredja (Sarbupri trade union leader) archive;
- C. 200 tapes with interviews from the Oral History Project 'In Search of Silenced Voices';
- Collection of bulletins, posters, stickers, t-shirts, sound tapes and other propaganda material on the Reformasi Movement;
- Indonesian Labour Relations (INDOC Collection) 1979-1995;
Research
The IISH carries out and stimulates scholarly research. It is an acknowledged meeting place for researchers from all over the world and organizes conferences, symposia, and international research projects. The institute publishes research results through both international academic publishers and its own inhouse publishing unit. Research projects on Asia in which IISH has been involved during the past years deal with topics such as Opting out of the Nation: Identity Politics and Labour in Central, South, and West Asia, Changing Labour Relations in Asia (in collaboration with the International Institute of Asian Studies), the Indonesian Trade Union Movement in the 1930s, the Introduction of Conscription in the Middle East, and The Impact of Displaced Persons in South Asia. The secretariat of SEPHIS (South-South Exchange Programme for Research on the History of Development) operates from IISH.
The International Institute of Social History
Cruquiusweg 31
1019 AT Amsterdam
he Netherlands
Tel.: +31-20-668 5866
Fax:+31-20-663 0349
E-mail: user.service@iisg.nl (general information)
collection.info@iisg.nl (information on archival collections)
asia.department@iisg.nl (asia department)
http://www.iisg.nl
Asia Department IISH: http://www.iisg.nl/asia
The Online Public-Access Catalogue (OPAC) of the IISH is also accessible through WWW-server.
Opening hours reading room:
From Monday until Friday from 9.00 to 17.00
Contact Persons:
Dr Turaj Atabaki (Central Asia)
Prof. Willem van Schendel (South Asia)
Drs Emile Schwidder (Southeast Asia)
Prof. Erik Jan Zurcher (Turkey, Middle East)
Eef Vermeij (co-ordinator Asia Department)
Contact persons in South Asia:
Shahriar Kabir (Bangladesh)
Bidyut Debnath (India)
Ahmad Saleem (Pakistan)