Today in the Netherlands we remembered all the war victims by staying silent for 2 minutes. On this day in 1945 my country was liberated from the Nazi’s. One of my grandfathers was part of the resistance during the war. He was a farmer and had big tractors, he used them to transport hay and other products. Often he would also use them to hide Jewish refugees in them. He had a friend who did the same thing. One day they were on their way to bring some refugees to a safe place, his friend was driving in front of him and somehow some people from the NSB found out and checked the tractors. My grandfather’s friend was out of luck because the refugees in his tractor where discovered. They didn't discover the refugees in my grandfather’s tractor. But his friend and the refugees where shot right before his eyes. My grandfather had nightmares about it ever since.
My other grandfather was sent to Germany, to work in one of the factories during the war. One day the town where he worked was bombed. He hid himself inside one of the big barrels that where inside the factory. He managed to survive. When it was safe again for him to come out of the barrel the sight of what happened around him scarred him for life. When he got back to the Netherlands he also joined the resistance. Together with a few other brave people the stole towns register, in which all the names and addresses of the citizens where noted. This helped to save a lot of people, because it made it a lot more difficult to track down where the Jewish people lived.
Still to this day I am very proud of what my grandfathers both did. I am also proud of my grandmothers, who were in charge of the household when their husbands were away. It must have been really hard for them as well, knowing that their husbands were in such danger.
The National Remembrance Day takes place annually in the Netherlands on 4 May, with two minutes (previously one minute) of silence at 8 p.m. The national commemoration is on Dam Square in Amsterdam and has been organized by the National Committee 4 and 5 May since 1988, while hundreds of other committees organize local commemorations. In the original set-up, only Dutch victims of the Second World War were involved, but since 1961 a broader definition has been used that includes all Dutch war victims or those who died since the outbreak of the Second World War. A day later, on May 5, the liberation of the German occupation (1940-1945) is celebrated. The Indian community holds 15 August as a liberation day, due to the Japanese capitulation in the Dutch East Indies on 15 August 1945.
Do you have any wartime stories?
Love, Brigitte
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