To commemorate the Five-Day Battle in Semarang, a film produced by students of the History Study Program will be screened for the public at Rumah Po-Han Gallery, Kota Lama, Semarang. The short film will be shown on Monday, October 13, 2025, at 2:00 PM.
The film tells the story of Semarang residents who became victims during the battle against Japanese forces in October 1945. “This film was produced at the end of 2024. Since the eyewitnesses of that event have passed away, this film is expected to serve as a guardian of collective memory for younger generations,” said Bambang Rakhmanto, a lecturer of Public History at UNNES.
The screening is part of a series of events commemorating the Five-Day Battle in Semarang organized by Rumah Po-Han Gallery in collaboration with the History Study Program. Fifteen days before the commemoration on October 15, the two parties formalized their partnership.
The collaboration was set forth in an agreement document titled Implementation of Agreement on Community Service to Enhance Historical Awareness among Semarang Residents. The signing was conducted by Mukhamad Shokheh, Coordinator of the History Study Program, and Sylvie Probowati, founder of Rumah Po-Han.
Sylvie expressed her delight at the collaboration with UNNES History Program. “Rumah Po-Han is open to academic and cultural activities. We are pleased to collaborate with UNNES History so that our activities here can bring greater benefit to the community,” said Sylvie.
The agenda includes an exhibition of old newspapers and a public discussion from October 9–17, 2025. In addition, a seminar titled “The Dynamics of Trade in Colonial-Era Semarang” will be held on November 26, 2025, featuring Yvonne Sibuea, a researcher from EIN Institute, and Dr. Putri Agus Wijayati, M.Hum., an academic from UNNES.
In addition to the film screening and seminar, the collaboration also includes a student internship program, where students will be guided to conduct data collection on the old newspaper archives owned by Rumah Po-Han.
