In 1965-66, supporters of the Communist Party of Indonesia were regularly killed in army-organized massacres. Very few of these atrocities have been studied in any detail, and answers to basic questions remain unclear. What was the relationship between the army and civilian militias? How could the perpetrators come to view unarmed individuals as dangerous enemies of the nation? Why did Communist Party supporters, who numbered in the millions, not resist?

Based upon years of documentary research and personal interviews with victims, Buried Histories is an impressive contribution to the literature on genocide and mass atrocity, addressing themes of media, military organization, economic interests, and resistance.