Jan Ruff-O'Herne Jan Ruff-O'Herne i(A49963 works by)
Born: Established: 1923 Java,
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Indonesia,
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Southeast Asia, South and East Asia, Asia, ;
Gender: Female
Arrived in Australia: 1960
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BiographyHistory

Jan Ruff-O'Herne was born in Semarang, Java. In 1942, Colonial Java was invaded by the Japanese and she and her family were subsequently interned in prison camps. Along with nine other young Dutch girls, she was enslaved in 'The House of the Seven Seas', a brothel owned and frequented by the Japanese Imperial Army and was forced to become what was termed a 'comfort woman'. In 1992, she travelled to Tokyo to join other women and became one of the first Western women to speak out at Public Hearings into war crimes, demanding a formal apology from the Japanese Government. The film based on her life was awarded Best Documentary at the 1994 AFI Awards. She has worked as a teacher and published an autobiography in 1994.

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • Author writes in these languages: ENGLISH, DUTCH

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon 50 Years of Silence Sydney : Editions Tom Thompson , 1994 Z857203 1994 single work autobiography

'The long idyllic summer of Jan Ruff-O'Herne's childhood in Dutch colonial Indonesia ended in 1942 with the Japanese invasion of Java. She was interned in Ambarawa Prison Camp, along with her mother and two younger sisters. In February 1944, when Jan was 21, her life was torn apart. Along with nine other young women, all of them virgins, she was plucked from the camp and her family, and enslaved into prostitution by the Japanese Imperial Army.' (Publisher)
1997 winner The TDK Australian Audio Book Awards — Abridged Non-Fiction
VIEW ALL AWARDS
Last amended 19 Sep 2007 11:00:23
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