Dutch Liberation Day Celebrations
Two events comprise this two-day celebration in Netherlands:
Remembrance Day: This occurs on May 4 every year, and is observed in the remembrance of all those Resistance members who lost their lives fighting the Nazi occupation. The rituals start in the evening, with church services being held in central Amsterdam. After that, the relatives of the martyrs move to the National War Memorial at the Dam square, and offer wreaths and flowers. A child then reads out a poem written by him, which is selected by the jury. A silent march finally ends the day.
Liberation Day: The next day after the Remembrance Day is the Liberation Day, which is a national holiday. From a different province each year, the prime minister starts the day' proceedings. Cultural events and exhibitions are held throughout the day. In many of the Dutch towns, open-air pop concerts are also very popular. In the evening, the Queen and the government attend a concert at the Amstel Bridge, which gets broadcast over television.
History of the Dutch Liberation Day
Even though Netherlands had declared neutrality during World War II, the German forces invaded the country in 1940 and dislocated the government, probably to utilize the air fields near the North Sea coast. The Dutch army presented stiff opposition to the Nazis, but was later made to submit.
What followed was the worst period in the country's history. The Germans started to persecute the Jews in Netherlands, and dispatching them to the concentration camps was a common ploy. By the time the occupation was over, it is believed that over 100,000 Jews had been killed in Netherlands. And then there were other horrors forced labor, forced evacuations, and stiff oppression that rendered daily life a nightmare.
A resistance slowly developed against the Nazis, which although was not very effective militarily, proved priceless in providing intelligence information to the Allies. It wasn't until after the D-Day operation that Canadian troops defeated the German forces and liberated Netherlands.
The Dutch Liberation Day used to be a five-year event until 1990, when it was made an yearly happening and also a national holiday.
