This anonymous poster seems to have been made and distributed immediately after Indonesia’s independence, when the Allied troops came to Indonesia to disarm the Japanese troops. The use of English here is aimed at the Allied forces and foreign journalists. The term “WORLD PEACE” is written in capital letters, indicating that it is the most important message of the poster. Put into a historical context, the earliest theme in the Indonesian Republic’s propaganda was its desire for both independence and world peace. The use of the theme of ‘world peace’ is an attempt to legitimize Indonesia’s existence and to show the world, and especially the Allies, that the Indonesian nation values peace. This narrative was a way of countering the stereotype of Indonesia as a product of fascist Japan, an accusation frequently launched by the Dutch in the first months of post-independence Indonesia.
‘Indonesian self-determination is the only way to establish world peace’. Indonesian propaganda poster. c. 1945. KITLV 36D776.