A ceremony was organized on the Domplein in Utrecht tonight during National Remembrance Day. Mayor Sharon Dijksma gives a speech and then she and the daughter of a resistance fighter lay a wreath at the monument. In addition, commemoration ceremonies are also organized in other places in the city.
During National Remembrance Day, the victims of the Second World War and subsequent war situations and peace operations are remembered. At 8 p.m. people are expected to be silent for two minutes and most commemorations are organized around this time.
The ceremony in the city center starts at 7:30 PM with a silent procession from the Pieterskerkhof. About twenty minutes later, the crowd arrives at Domplein, followed by a two-minute silence at 8 p.m. This will be followed by the mayor’s speech and the wreath laying ceremony.
This year Dijksma will do this together with Jantien Verlaan-Das. Jantien is the daughter of resistance fighter Henk Das, who manned the underground communications center in Brigittenstraat during the Second World War. He was provincial leader of the National Organization for Aid to Hiders and had to go into hiding himself in 1943. Das died in 2008.
Other places
Utrecht residents can also gather in many other places during National Remembrance Day. This can be done during the ceremony at the 4 and 5 May monument on Berlinplein, at Fort Lunet I on Konigsweg, at the memorial on Prins Bernhardplein and at the liberation tree on the corner of ‘t Goylaan and Julianaweg. Look at here the complete overview of all places in the city.
Finally, the National Committee calls on May 4 and 5 to fly the flag at half-mast on Saturday. “The flag used is the Dutch tricolor (without pennant),” the municipality writes.
Tags: Today National Remembrance Day commemorated places Utrecht
