Tonight the whole of the Netherlands will be silent for two minutes. Most people know that the victims of the Second World War are commemorated during National Remembrance Day. But what else do we commemorate, and what not?
First of all: it is of course up to you to decide for yourself who you will and will not commemorate tonight. But the May 4 and 5 Committee, which organizes National Remembrance Day, uses an official definition of who and what is and is not commemorated.
Memorandum
This so-called memorandum, the first version of which was drawn up in 1946, states:
During the National Remembrance Day we commemorate all – civilians and military personnel – who were killed or murdered in the Kingdom of the Netherlands or anywhere else in the world; both during the Second World War and the colonial war in Indonesia, as well as in war situations and peace operations afterwards.
This text has changed regularly over the years. Originally, only soldiers and resistance fighters were commemorated. Only since the 1960s has the Jewish victims of the war been commemorated during the commemoration.
The text of the memorandum is not very clear with regard to victims of other wars, the spokesperson acknowledges. “It is indeed true that the text is short, so that some context is lost,” she says. “We have received a lot of questions about this this year, we will see if we need to add something to the text.”
In any case, the victims of the Second World War are commemorated the most, according to research by the RTL News Panel. 56 percent indicate that they mainly think about these victims. 28 percent, especially the elderly, also commemorate family and/or acquaintances who have experienced a war situation.
Since 1961, victims of wars and peace operations after the Second World War have also been commemorated. This concerns soldiers and defense personnel who died during deployments. “Dutch nationals who died during such a government-sanctioned mission are also commemorated on May 4,” according to the May 4 and 5 Committee.
This concerns, for example, soldiers who died during missions in Lebanon, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan.
Ukraine and Gaza
The last part of the memorandum is therefore not about the victims of other wars, such as in Ukraine and Gaza. “These are not commemorated during National Remembrance Day,” a spokesperson for the Committee confirms.
Nevertheless, members of the RTL News panel indicate that they will also reflect on victims in Ukraine and Gaza today. 23 percent say they (also) commemorate those victims.
Any changes to the memorandum will not be made overnight, but it is certainly possible. For example, between 2015 and 2019 it was explicitly stated in the text that the commemoration was aimed at Dutch victims.
Anne Frank
The word ‘Dutch’ was deleted in 2019 because it unintentionally excluded a group of victims. For example, a group of Jewish refugees, including Anne Frank, never had Dutch nationality, but the commemoration is certainly intended for them as well.
The last major change to the text took place in 2022. Then the colonial war in Indonesia was added. During the Indonesian War of Independence, it is estimated that more than a hundred thousand people were killed between 1945 and 1949. There will also be two minutes of silence for them tonight.
