Her Majesty The Queen,accompanied by HRH The Prince of Orange,attended the ceremonies of Remembrance in Amsterdam this evening.
May 4th is of special significance to The Netherlands as we remember the dutch who fell during WWII,both military and civilians,and during all conflicts/wars thereafter on UN missions,and they are remembered nationwide with two minutes silence at 20.00PM followed by wreathlaying ceremonies.All national flags fly at halve mast from 18.00PM till dusk.
As always it was a most impressive gathering at the Dam Square here in Amsterdam as ten's of thousands attended in the presence of Her Majesty and The Prince of Orange who first placed their wreath,followed by a two minute silence,the national anthem,the wreaths of survivors of the holocaust,the resistance,the camps here in Europe as well as in the former Dutch East Indies,now Indonesia,and many many groups and individuals of all walks of Dutch society,the gypsies,homosexuals,jewish and many more.And children/youngsters,many of them to keep alive the memory of those who fought for the freedom and democracy we all so enjoy today,and all to often take for granted,but the memory has to be kept alive lest we never forget that even today,we can never take for granted society as we know it can slide down the path of war and horror again.
Tomorrow,may 5th,we will celebrate Liberation Day,as it was on may 5th 1945 the germans surrendered to the allies at hotel "De Wereld" in Wageningen,near Arnhem,the war in the Netherlands had come to an end,but the war in the dutch East Indies,under the horror of Japanese occupation,would last till august 16th 1945 with the Japanese surrendering at the cost of ten's of thousands of locals and over 30.000 dutch who perished in the camps and after being deported to the horror of the Birma railway.
Liberation Day comes second in terms of Nationwide celebrations to celebrate the freedom we owe to so many,both dutch and Allies.All over the country festive celebrations/concerts will be held and there will be abundened flag flying.As a tradition HM The Queen will attend the Liberation Day concert at the Amstel river,Amsterdam tomorrow evening.Prof.Pieter van Vollenhoven will attend the gathering/concert at the St.John the Baptist church in Wageningen.
