{"id":4963,"date":"2017-05-04T12:12:55","date_gmt":"2017-05-04T12:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=4963"},"modified":"2017-05-04T12:12:55","modified_gmt":"2017-05-04T12:12:55","slug":"4-mei-dodenherdenking-remembering-the-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/4-mei-dodenherdenking-remembering-the-dead\/","title":{"rendered":"4 mei – Dodenherdenking: Remembering the Dead"},"content":{"rendered":"

We have fought many\u00a0oorlogen\u00a0<\/em>(wars). And wars are so\u00a0gruwelijk\u00a0<\/em>(cruel), because the\u00a0levens\u00a0<\/em>(lives) of so many\u00a0mensen\u00a0<\/em>(people) are destroyed, and many\u00a0levens\u00a0<\/em>are lost. In order to remember how cruel and terrible wars are, many countries have remembrance or memorial days. And many are in May, because it was in May 1945 that the Germans capitulated in the Second World War. The Dutch one is today.<\/p>\n

Today is the\u00a0Nationale Dodenherdenking\u00a0<\/em>(National Remembrance\u00a0of the Dead) in the Netherlands, also sometimes just referred to as\u00a04 mei<\/em>. It remembers\u00a0alle Nederlandse slachtoffers sinds het uitbreken van de\u00a0Tweede Wereldoorlog\u00a0<\/em>(all Dutch victims since the start of the Second World War).<\/p>\n

De Herdenkingsbijeenkomst<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n
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The Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam seen from the Dam Square (Image by Diego Delso at delso.photo under license CC BY SA 4.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

Officially, it starts at 18:00 (6pm CEST). At that time, the doors open for a church service in the\u00a0Nieuwe Kerk\u00a0<\/em>in Amsterdam, which starts at 18:50 (6:50pm CEST). It is the so-called\u00a0herdenkingsbijeenkomst\u00a0<\/em>(remembrance meeting). Then there is the\u00a04 mei-voordracht\u00a0<\/em>(May 4 presentation) by a Dutch auteur\u00a0<\/em>(author), a different one each year. Hereafter, there is\u00a0ensemble music and the\u00a0Onze Vader\u00a0<\/em>(Lord’s Prayer) towards the end. It ends at 19:20 (7:20pm CEST) with the Dutch national anthem, the\u00a0Wilhelmus<\/em>. Then, the guests move to the Dam.<\/p>\n

De Herdenkingsplechtigheid<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n
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Dam Square with the monument at the right at which the kranslegging occurs (Image by Andrea Schaffer at Flickr.com under license CC BY 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

At the Dam, the\u00a0herdenkingsplechtigheid\u00a0<\/em>(remembrance solemnity) starts at 19:50 (7:50pm CEST). The\u00a0koning\u00a0<\/em>(king)\u00a0Willem-Alexander\u00a0<\/em>and the\u00a0koningin\u00a0<\/em>(queen)\u00a0Maxima <\/em>will lay a\u00a0krans<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>(wreath) at the Dam, the so-called\u00a0kranslegging<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Twee minuten stilte<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

The\u00a0Taptoe-signaal\u00a0<\/em>(Taptoe signal) is played just before the beginning of the\u00a0twee minuten stilte\u00a0<\/em>(two minutes of silence) at 20:00 (8pm CEST) tonight. It is comparable to the British\u00a0Last Post\u00a0<\/em>or the American\u00a0Taps<\/em>. You can see it in the video below, including the beginning of the\u00a0twee minuten stilte<\/em>. Also notice the\u00a0vlag halfstok\u00a0<\/em>(flag half-staff), which mourns the fallen\u00a0burgers en soldaten\u00a0<\/em>(citizens and soldiers).<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9aizioxZ8Do<\/p>\n

The\u00a0twee minuten stilte<\/em> counts for the entire country, and so it is requested to give everybody the chance to have that silence for two minutes. So no parties and the like should be organized around that time.<\/p>\n

Kranslegging<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

After the\u00a0twee minuten stilte<\/em>, the\u00a0Wilhelmus\u00a0<\/em>is played, and the\u00a04 mei-gedicht<\/em>\u00a0(May 4 poem)\u00a0<\/em>is presented. It is an annual contest held among youth, and so this is always a\u00a0jongere\u00a0<\/em>(young person). This year, it is 16-year old G\u00fcner Tuzg\u00f6l. Then, more\u00a0kransen\u00a0<\/em>(wreaths) are laid, always for a certain type of\u00a0slachtoffers.\u00a0<\/em>This year, those include:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • de mensen die werden vermoord omdat zij in verzet kwamen\u00a0<\/em>(the people murdered because they resisted)<\/li>\n
  • de Joden, Roma en Sinti die werden vervolgd en vermoord\u00a0<\/em>(the Jews, Roma and Sinti that were persecuted and killed)<\/li>\n
  • de omgekomen burgers als gevolg van oorlogsgeweld\u00a0<\/em>(the fallen citizens due to violence in war)<\/li>\n
  • de omgekomen burgers in Azi\u00eb als gevolg van de Japanse bezetting\u00a0<\/em>(the fallen citizens in Asia due to the Japanese occupation)<\/li>\n
  • de omgekomen militairen en het koopvaardijpersoneel\u00a0<\/em>(the fallen soldiers and merchant personnel)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    This is followed by a\u00a0toespraak\u00a0<\/em>(speech) by the\u00a0burgemeester\u00a0<\/em>(mayor) of Amsterdam, Eberhard van der Laan, and more\u00a0kranslegging\u00a0<\/em>by certain high-ranking people in public office. Finally, school children will lay flowers (bloemlegging<\/em>).<\/p>\n

    Then finally, at 20:20 (8:20pm CEST) it is time for the\u00a0defil\u00e9\u00a0<\/em>(parade), where the\u00a0koning\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0koningin\u00a0<\/em>walk off past the\u00a0kransen<\/em>. Now, all other people have the chance to lay flowers.<\/p>\n

    See last year’s ceremony here:<\/p>\n