Remembrance of the Dead (Dutch: Dodenherdenking) is held annually on May 4 in the Netherlands.
Since 2011, the official text of the Memorandum for Remembrance Day on 4 May is as follows:
During the national commemoration of Remembrance Day we remember all Dutch victims – civilians and soldiers – who have been killed or murdered in the Kingdom of the Netherlands or anywhere else in the world in war situations or during peace-keeping operations since the outbreak of the Second World War.
— Memorandum 2011
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 20:00, 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 4 May 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.
The main commemorations 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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