04 May 2012 Remembrance of the Dead
Wikipedia :Remembrance of the Dead
Wikipedia: Dodenherdenking
Wikipedia :Remembrance of the Dead
Remembrance of the Dead (Dutch: Dodenherdenking) is held annually
on May 4 in the Netherlands.
It commemorates all civilians and members of the armed forces of
the Kingdom of the Netherlands who have died in wars or peacekeeping missions
since the outbreak of World War II.
Until 1961, the commemoration only related to the Dutch victims of World War II.
Since 1961, the victims of other military conflicts
(such as the Indonesian National Revolution in Indonesia) and peacekeeping missions
(such as in Lebanon or Bosnia) are remembered on May 4 as well.
Traditionally, the main ceremonies are observed in Amsterdam
at the National Monument on Dam Square.
This ceremony is usually attended by members of the cabinet and
the royal family, military leaders, representatives of the resistance movement
and other social groups. At 8:00 p.m., two minutes of silence are observed
throughout the
Netherlands. Public transport is stopped, as well as all other traffic.
Radio and TV only broadcast the ceremonies from 19.00 until 20.30.
Since May 4, 1994, the flags, having hung at half-staff from 18:00 onwards,
are then hoisted to the music of the "Wilhelmus", the Dutch national anthem.
Since 2001 the new protocol says it is correct to let the flag hang half-staff.
The main celebrations in Amsterdam are broadcast by the public
broadcasting company NOS, but there are ceremonies in other cities
and places as well. Especially notable are those at the Waalsdorpervlakte
near the Hague, where many Dutch resistance fighters were executed during the war,
and at the war cemetery Grebbeberg, which are broadcast by the commercial
broadcasting companies.
In many towns, before or after the two minutes of silence, people gather around
a monument, listen to speeches, and lay down flowers to remember the dead.
The next day, on May 5, Dutch people celebrate the liberation of the nation from
the German occupation of 1940 to 1945.
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Dutch
Wikipedia: Dodenherdenking
In Nederland vindt jaarlijks op 4 mei de Nationale Dodenherdenking plaats.
Men herdenkt tijdens de Nationale Herdenking allen – burgers en
militairen – die in het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden of waar ook ter wereld zijn
omgekomen sinds het uitbreken van de Tweede Wereldoorlog
(men gaat hierbij uit van 10 mei 1940),
in oorlogssituaties en bij vredesoperaties.
Een dag later, op 5 mei wordt de bevrijding van de Duitse bezetting (1940-1945) gevierd.
Tot 1961 had de herdenking slechts betrekking op de Nederlandse slachtoffers
van de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Vanaf 1961 worden op 4 mei ook de gevallenen tijdens
andere militaire conflicten (zoals de politionele acties in Nederlands-Indië)
en vredesoperaties (zoals in Libanon, Bosnië of Afghanistan) herdacht.
