80 years after liberation from the Nazis, the Dutch commemorate the victims of war

AMSTERDAM — Trains came to a halt, cars pulled to the side of the road and no planes arrived or departed in the Netherlands for two minutes on Sunday, as the country went silent to remember victims of war.

Thousands of people gathered in Amsterdam to watch as Dutch King Willem-Alexander laid a wreath at a war memorial, 80 years and a day since the country was liberated from Nazi occupation in 1945.

The first speaker at the annual event was 14-year-old Marijn van der Wilk who read a poem he had written about resistance during the war. “They were brothers, sisters, neighbors. Just people, like you or me. In a time when doing good could be life-threatening. And yet they did it,” he said during the nationally televised event.

Prime Minister Dick Schoof discussed the grief his family felt over the death of his grandfather, who was executed by Nazi soldiers for his work in the resistance.

“On this day, in the two minutes of silence, that echo sounds extra loud. When we think of all the people who were murdered for who they were. Who died of hunger or exhaustion. Or who fought for peace and freedom. Our peace and freedom,” Schoof said.

The national day of commemoration, at which flags fly at half staff from buildings throughout the country, honors military personnel and civilians killed in conflicts around the world since the outbreak of World War II. It is followed Monday by celebrations to mark the country’s liberation from Nazi German occupation at the end of the war.

Not every place in the country observed the remembrance. Some predominantly Christian areas honored the dead on Saturday, as to not disrupt the Sunday sabbath.

In The Hague, a few hundred people gathered for an alternative commemoration. A group of civil servants organized May 4 inclusive, an event to remember all victims of conflict, frustrated with the Dutch government’s response to the conflict in Gaza. According to the association’s website, the official event is too restrictive. “We commemorate both the victims of the past and the victims of today, regardless of where, by whom or when the war, genocide, persecution or oppression took place. We do not want to exclude anyone, all victims are given a place.”

A few pro-Palestinian slogans could be seen in the crowd in Amsterdam.

Later Sunday evening, two veterans will light a Liberation Fire to kickstart a day of celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the end of German occupation of the Netherlands. Mervyn Kersh, a 100-year-old veteran from Britain, and Nick Janicki, 101, from Canada will light the flame in Wageningen, the central city where German officers signed the official surrender in 1945, organizers said.

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Mike Corder in The Hague contributed to this report.