were prevented by another enemy, the COVID-19
virus. Instead we watched the National Day of
Remembrance held on Dam Square live streamed on
YouTube.
It was clear to us that the Dutch people’s vision
of freedom is to remember and honour the past.
Because of the pandemic, the square was mostly
empty, with only a few dozen people in attendance.
The Dutch ceremony was similar to the ones we
hold in Canada every November 11. It began with
a march from the palace by the King and Queen of
the Netherlands and other dignitaries, the laying
of wreaths, a speech from the King, a bugle call
similar to our “Last Post,” followed immediately by
two minutes of silence occurring at precisely
8:00 p.m. Dutch time. The entire nation stood still
at that moment.
In his speech, King Willem-Alexander spoke
of the unusual circumstances in which his nation
presently found itself. Now, he said, freedom was
willingly given up for the health of the people, while
during the war, freedom was taken by a merciless
enemy that killed millions of citizens. A large part of
his speech was his recollection of a talk he heard six
years earlier given by Jules Schelvis, a Jewish Dutch
citizen. In June 1943, Jules and his wife Rachel were
deported to Sobibor, a Nazi German extermination
camp. His wife never returned. Jules spoke of the
events leading up to the deportation. Freedom was
removed for the Jewish people slowly, one step at a
time. First not being allowed at the swimming pool,
then not being able to play in the orchestra, then
no more bicycling and no more studying. The trip
to Sobibor began in the Vondelpark, a large park
in Amsterdam, with a sign that said, “Forbidden to
Jews.”
The King concluded that even seventy-five years
since the liberation, war still rests with the Dutch
people. The least we can do, he said, is not to look
away, not justify, not to erase or set aside, and not
to make normal that which isn’t normal. By doing
this, the institutions of democracy will continue to
protect people from arbitrariness and madness.
This vision of freedom is not only important for
Dutch citizens but also for Canadians.
Leo Bruseker, a member of the ARTA Health
Benefits Committee, notes that the ceremony in
Dam Square, available at youtu.be/sXkgHLMXEDs,
has been subtitled for the first 37 minutes, the
length of the ceremony, although the YouTube
video is 52 minutes long. It’s a very compelling
ceremony.
Canadian War Cemetery,
Groesbeek, Netherlands
news&views AUTUMN 2020 | 43