The Transformation of the MULO Building, a Silent Witness to PETA’s Resistance: When the Homeland Was at Stake in a Small Town Called Blitar
In a quiet town in East Java, far from the bustle of capitals and megapolises, lies a silent witness to a story few have heard beyond Indonesia’s shores. Blitar, widely known as the city of the Proclaimer, is home to the tomb of Ir. Soekarno offers visitors a powerful symbol of independence. But beneath that celebrated image lies another, quieter tale. A tale of a rebellion that dared to speak in the early hours of dawn. A tale that took root in the shadows, inside an unassuming military compound now fading from public memory.
This place is called the Headquarters of PETA, Pembela Tanah Air, or Defenders of the Homeland. Located in the Bendogerit area of Blitar, the site is a national treasure often overlooked even by Indonesians themselves. But here, on a dim morning in 1945, a spark of defiance flared, a rebellion born from within the ranks of those trained to obey.
From Colonial Classroom to Barracks of Rebellion
To understand this place, we must turn back the clock to 1910. Indonesia was then part of the Dutch East Indies, and Blitar was a modest town under colonial rule. In this very location stood a prestigious school called MULO, Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs. It was a school for the privileged, for the children of Dutch officials and elite Javanese families. Here, knowledge was not a right but a privilege, carefully distributed by the colonial government to maintain control.
For over 30 years, the MULO campus echoed with the rhythms of colonial education: lectures in Dutch, maps of the world drawn from a European perspective, and a future dictated by empire. But history has its course.
In 1942, the winds of war swept across the archipelago. Japan defeated the Dutch and occupied Indonesia, replacing one form of colonialism with another. The MULO school was shut down, and the Japanese military converted the complex into a PETA headquarters, a base to train Indonesian youth as volunteer soldiers to defend the Japanese empire from Allied attacks.
The Double-Edged Sword of PETA.
On paper, PETA was a symbol of collaboration. Young Indonesian men were trained, armed, and given uniforms, not to fight for their country, but for Japan. Yet, this strategic move by the occupiers would backfire.
Within the ranks of PETA, a deep discontent began to grow. These young soldiers quickly realized that independence was still a dream deferred. They were simply pawns in another imperial war. The Japanese promised self-rule, but delivered violence, forced labor, and hunger. In Blitar, a core group of nationalist officers began to plot something unthinkable: an armed revolt against their commanders.
The Uprising at 3:30 AM
And so, on the 14th of February 1945, at precisely 03:30 AM, the silence of Blitar’s dawn was shattered. Led by Sudanco Soepriyadi, a young and charismatic officer, a group of Indonesian soldiers staged an uprising against the Japanese. They attacked the Japanese military posts in Blitar, risking their lives for the idea of a free Indonesia, months before independence would be proclaimed in Jakarta.
Though the rebellion was ultimately crushed and Soepriyadi disappeared (his fate remains a mystery), the significance of the act cannot be overstated. It was the first military rebellion against the Japanese occupation, signaling that the Indonesian spirit could not be conscripted or controlled. The Blitar Uprising became a fire that would later ignite the hearts of many in the fight for independence.
After the Guns Were Silent: A New Battle Begins
When independence was declared on August 17, 1945, the former PETA headquarters underwent another transformation. No longer a school, no longer a military post, it became a beacon of education.
President Soekarno, who believed that knowledge was the foundation of a strong nation, repurposed the compound into teacher training schools, Sekolah Guru A and Sekolah Guru B. The very halls that once echoed with the sound of military drills were now filled with lessons on mathematics, language, and history. The former battlefield became a classroom, and the pen replaced the gun.
For decades, the site nurtured new generations of Indonesian educators, playing a quiet yet essential role in rebuilding a nation that had recently thrown off the shackles of colonial rule.
A Heritage at Risk
But time, as always, is a double-edged sword.
As Blitar grows and modernizes, the old PETA compound faces increasing threats from urban development. Its historic significance has faded from public awareness. The buildings remain, still functioning as educational facilities, but their deeper story, of rebellion, sacrifice, and rebirth, is in danger of being forgotten.
This 4.7-hectare complex is not merely an old military base. It is a symbol of Indonesia’s complex journey: from colonialism to resistance, from armed struggle to national education. It represents the layers of identity—political, cultural, and architectural—that make Indonesia unique.
Preserving this site is not about freezing it in time. It is about allowing time to speak. It is about creating space where students, travelers, and future generations can come face to face with the cost of freedom.
Walking Through History
To visit the PETA Headquarters is to walk alongside ghosts—not of fear, but of courage. It is to stand where young men once whispered oaths of rebellion. To look through the same windows they looked through, wondering if their dreams would outlive the dawn.
For international visitors, this site offers more than just historical facts. It offers a human story of courage in the face of empire, of betrayal and hope, of transformation and renewal. It is not a museum frozen in glass, but a living, breathing story embedded in walls still touched by sunlight and shadow.
An Invitation to Remember
Blitar is not merely a waypoint between major cities. It is a memory etched into stone, waiting to be uncovered.
So come. Walk through the gates of the old PETA compound. Let the morning breeze carry the voices of the past. Listen to the whispers of those who once believed that even in darkness, freedom was worth fighting for. Because in this corner of Java, at 3:30 AM, a nation’s soul once stood up and said,
“We are no longer yours. We are our own.”
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