Liberation flame kicks off celebrations in Netherlands; King and Queen lay wreath on Dam
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima laid a wreath at the National Monument on Dam Square in Amsterdam on Monday evening during the two-minute silence for National Remembrance Day. Over in Wageningen, the Liberation Flame was lit shortly after midnight to mark the start of Liberation Day celebrations.
The central commemoration on the Dam drew a crowd that was not at full capacity. Mayor Femke Halsema described the evening as successful: “It was a dignified and beautiful commemoration this evening on the Dam. Thanks to the police, the emergency services, the cleaning crew, and all volunteers who made this possible.”
Earlier that morning, the National Monument had been vandalized with red paint and slogans in a pre-dawn incident. The monument was cleaned in time for the ceremony.
In Wageningen, the flame was lit in front of the historic Hotel de Wereld—where the German surrender was signed on 5 May 1945—by Wageningen Mayor Vermeulen, 105-year-old Dutch veteran Johan Geneuglijk, and 103-year-old British veteran Robbie Hall. Geneuglijk told De Telegraaf: “The liberation has asked for a whole lot of sacrifices, and that we may never forget.”
The Wageningen program focused on the diary of Jewish woman Klaartje de Zwarte-Walvisch, imprisoned in Kamp Vught in 1943 before her deportation and murder in Sobibor. Actress Hanna van Vliet portrayed her. Around 2,500 relay runners then carried the flame to municipalities across the country.
Commemorations took place nationwide. A ceremony was held at 8 p.m. at the Waalsdorpervlakte between The Hague and Wassenaar—the site of more than 250 Nazi executions of resistance fighters.
Trains across the Netherlands halted for the two minutes of silence, and stations fell quiet so passengers and staff could participate. Silence was also observed at the former concentration camp Kamp Amersfoort and at the National Military Remembrance on the Grebbeberg near Rhenen.
Earlier on Monday, nearly 4,000 Dutch war dead were honored at the cemetery in Loenen, Gelderland, with music, a minute of silence, the first verse of the Wilhelmus, and wreath-layings. About 500 people attended an alternative remembrance on the Lange Voorhout in The Hague.
On Tuesday, Liberation Day brings coordinated celebrations to cities and towns across the Netherlands. This year’s freedom ambassadors are musical acts La Fuente, Jostiband, Karsu, and Rolf Sanchez. They depart from the airbase in Gilze-Rijen by helicopter on Tuesday morning to take part in various events around the country.
The festive day will close with the traditional 5 May concert on the Amstel River in Amsterdam, which King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima are attending. Performers include Roxeanne Hazes, Laetitia Gerards, Edsilia Rombley, and Acda en de Munnik.