During the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies which began in 1942, a new kind of strict censorship was enacted by the Kenpeitai and civilian police. The European press was completely closed down, and other press was spied on and subject to controls, but the Indonesian nationalist press and politicians were given some room to publish and make speeches. European editors and journalists at ethnically mixed publications were fired, and Indonesians promoted; the Indonesian language replaced Dutch almost immediately across the entire sector. The teaching of European history was banned. Indonesians were also mobilized or forced to support the Japanese effort and many artists and intellectuals were recruited to create propaganda or art that met strict constraints. Films were also censored, including pre-approval of scripts before production.
