Happy Liberation Day! 

Why is May 5th such an important day? Well, 75 years ago, an agreement on the capitulation of German forces was signed at ‘Hotel de Wereld’ in the Dutch city Wageningen. This agreement officially ended the Second World War for the Netherlands after 5 years of Nazi occupation.

Liberation in Groningen

 While the South of the Netherlands had already been liberated in the summer of 1944, the North remained occupied after the failure of Operation Market Garden in Arnhem in September 1944. The North, including Groningen, went through one of the most brutal winters (the Dutch famine) whilst still under occupation. 

Groningen was liberated a little earlier than the official liberation day on May 5th. We recently celebrated the Groninger liberation between April 13th and April 16th, which commemorated the battle of Groningen during which the entire 2nd Canadian infantry division fought for the freedom of Groningen against German and Dutch SS troops. 

How do we usually celebrate Liberation Day?

After remembering the fallen soldiers and civilians on May 4th for 2 minutes of silence at 20:00, we usually celebrate our freedom on May 5th with freedom festivals held in almost every big city in the Netherlands. There are free all day festivals with parades, live music, food and platforms to discuss freedom and what it means. In the past, I would go to Wageningen (where the freedom agreement was signed) with my parents to celebrate and there would be airshows by fighter jets as well as a parade to celebrate the war veterans. 

How can we celebrate or commemorate while in lockdown? 

Unfortunately, freedom festivals aren’t an option this year. As an alternative, this is a good opportunity to commemorate freedom by thinking about what freedom actually is and what life was without it. There are plenty of online facilities where you can learn more about the Dutch occupation and the liberation.

International talks about freedom 

What does freedom mean to you? What does freedom mean in different countries? How can we continue to celebrate freedom? Is freedom universal or personal? These are all very important questions which should be discussed. Join the International Talks About Freedom to join or watch the discussion about what freedom means to you. 

Nazi propoganda in Groningen 

Learn more about what the occupation in the Netherlands was like by checking out the Nazi propoganda posters which were distributed throughout the Netherlands. The collection includes posters with quotes from Goebbels or Goethe. 

Netflix movies 

Did you know that Netflix has an extensive collection of war documentaries and movies? Some are even relevant to the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.  For example, ‘Riphagen’ is about a Dutch gangster and Nazi-collaborator who blackmailed Jews into hiding and was responsible for hundreds of deaths. Or the other side of the story, The Resistance Banker is about a Dutch resistance fighter who slowed down the Nazis by creating an underground bank to fund the resistance. Both movies are offered in a wide selection of different languages for audio and subtitles. There are also plenty of war movies like WWII in Color which features battles like Operation Market Garden. 

Freedom ambassadors 

For all of the Dutchies: as you know, every year there are Dutch celebrities nominated as the ‘freedom ambassadors’ who travel to all of the freedom festivals in the Netherlands. While that is not possible under the current circumstances, you can still watch their documentaries to see their vision of freedom is for this year. This year’s ambassadors are Kriss Kross Amsterdam, Lucas & Steve, Snelle and Roxeanne Hazes.

While this all might seem like a bleak way to celebrate such a victorious day, it might  help us to have a better appreciation of our freedom. It gives us an opportunity to consider what freedom really is and how we still have it, even in these strange lockdown times. Maybe, this way, we will  want  to celebrate even more next year?