I was in the Netherlands over the weekend of May 5-6, 2007. May 5 is bevrijdingsdag (“Liberation Day”) for the Dutch, commemorating when Allied troops finally freed the whole of the country. Nearly half the country was liberated on September 5, 1944, but the north of the Netherlands was occupied by the Germans right up until May 1945. As the Allies advanced, North Holland was liberated by Canadian forces, and it was pretty moving to see the outpouring of affection shown for the aging Canucks. I didn’t snap any photos this year, but I did attend three different victory parades in 2005, the 60th anniversary of the liberation.
A trio of WW II-era aircraft in “V” formation during Bevrijdingsdag celebrations in Apeldoorn
To commemorate this, the Dutch have 2 minutes of silence at 8pm on May 4th. On May 5th, there are concerts all over the country, and a veteran’s parade in Wageningen, where the German surrender was signed. In 2005, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the liberation, they had huge celebrations and parades throughout the country – an emotional “last hurrah” for a lot of aging veterans (most of whom are Canadian). This year, my girlfriend and I went to the parade in Wageningen. It is incredibly emotional seeing these aged, beret-wearing veterans receiving the kind of adulation normally given to pop stars. I guess it’s also sad, because there are simply fewer and fewer vets each year to receive this praise.
Hard As Nails
That being said, there’s still a company’s worth of vets who march the whole damn parade route – in step – every year.
The gentleman in this jeep is a veteran of the British 1st Airborne, and probably fought in Operation: Market-Garden.
There were a large number of youth there – heavy metal kids mostly – who had come only to drink beer, enjoy the weather, and catch the music. All fine and well, but I wonder if they even knew what the parade was all about. (I also had to wonder what goes through a Canadian vets mind when he sees a couple of kids wearing the classic Slayer “Slaytanic Wehrmacht” t-shirts…)
Caught a comedy gig in Amsterdam that evening featuring fellow countryman Lewis Black. Of course we missed his gig, but we caught a bunch of Dutch guys who were pretty hilarious – including a Dutch “celebrity” (in ” ” because no American would know who he is) named Javier Guzman. (Yeah, his dad was a Spaniard, okay?) The emcee singled me out as the token American. He was great, as he riffed in English, alternately ribbing me, and thanking me for “liberating his country”. At the end he finally said aloud “why am I thanking you? Your just some IT guy.” I met Lewis Black as well. Very nice guy, and of course nothing like his high-strung act on the Daily Show.
The Travelling Misanthrope 