| Liberation Day | |
|---|---|
 Liberation Day parade in 1960 inUtrecht | |
| Official name | Bevrijdingsdag |
| Observed by | Netherlands |
| Type | National Day |
| Celebrations | Music festivals |
| Date | 5 May |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Related to | Liberation of the Netherlands from German occupation during World War II |
Liberation Day (Dutch:Bevrijdingsdag[bəˈvrɛidɪŋzˌdɑx]ⓘ) is anational holiday in theNetherlands celebrated annually on May 5th to mark the end of theGerman occupation of the country during the Second World War.[1][2] It follows one day after theRemembrance of the Dead (Dodenherdenking) on 4 May.[3][4] The end of the war is instead marked byNational Remembrance on 15 August.[5]
After liberation in 1945, Liberation Day was celebrated every five years. In 1990 the day was declared anational holiday when liberation would be remembered and celebrated every year. Liberation Day replacedWaterloo Day. Festivals are held in most places in the Netherlands with parades of veterans and musical festivals throughout the whole country on Liberation Day.
The Netherlands was occupied byGermany and ruled under a civilian regime (Reichskommissariat Niederlande) beginning in 1940 during World War II. On 4 May 1945, German Admiralvon Friedeburg surrendered inLüneburg on behalf of the German troops in northwest Germany, the Netherlands, Schleswig-Holstein, and Denmark to British Field MarshalMontgomery.[6] The Netherlands was liberated byCanadian forces,British infantry divisions, theBritish I Corps, the1st Polish Armoured Division,American,Belgian,Dutch andCzechoslovak troops. Parts of the country, in particular the south-east, were liberated by theBritish Second Army which included American and Polish airborne forces (seeOperation Market Garden) and French airbornes (seeOperation Amherst). On 5 May 1945, atHotel de Wereld inWageningen,I Canadian Corps commanderLieutenant-GeneralCharles Foulkes andOberbefehlshaber Niederlande commander-in-chiefGeneraloberstJohannes Blaskowitz reached an agreement on thecapitulation of all German forces in the Netherlands in the presence ofPrince Bernhard, commander of the Dutch Interior Forces (Bernhard himself was German and a former Nazi Party member). The capitulation document was signed the next day in the auditorium ofWageningen University, located next door.[7]
The liberation from the German and Japanese occupiers in 1945 was first celebrated on 31 August 1945, when it was still Queen's Day.Queen Wilhelmina did not want this celebration on her birthday, so May 5th, the day of the surrender negotiations, came into play. In 1946, the government decided that Liberation Day should take place on May 5th, unless it fell on a Sunday, because otherwise the tradition of Christian Sunday rest would be disrupted. In 1968, it was decided that Liberation Day would take place on May 5th, regardless of the day of the week.[8]
From 1958 onward, Liberation Day was celebrated only every five years. The various successive committees failed to establish a national tradition,[9] unlike the National Remembrance Day.[10] In 1990, May 5th was declared a national holiday, on which the liberation of the Netherlands from German occupation in 1945 is commemorated and celebrated annually. This does not automatically mean that May 5th is a day off. The Dutch government has determined that employees and employers in theprivate sector should make their own arrangements.[11]
In theDutch East Indies, there was no Liberation Day and remains so. Although the Dutch East Indies was liberated by the Japanese surrender on 15 August 1945, there was no reason for celebration for a freeIndonesia because of thewar of independence that started immediately. Instead, there is theNational Remembrance, which only came into effect in 1999. Today the Kingdom of the Netherlands recognizes 15 August 1945 as the end ofWorld War II and also the independence of Indonesia from the Netherlands.[5]
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Activities are organized throughout the country; each city and town has its own program of activities, including many music festivals. The Liberation Day celebrations begin each year in a different province.
On the night of May 4th to 5th, the mayor ofWageningen lights a fire in front of the historicHotel de Wereld during a ceremony broadcast live on TV. From this historic location, walking groups will depart across the country to spread the flames. This is an important moment for the Netherlands as it transitions from commemorating on May 4th to celebrating liberation on May 5th.[12] The Prime Minister traditionally lights the fire, officially kicking off the liberation festivities.
Since 1995, an inspirational lecture has been given almost every year on the day. The first one was given byQueen Beatrix.[13]
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The Liberation Day celebration festivals on May 5th take place in fourteen provincial cities. These include major festivals such as the Liberation Event in Wageningen, which includes the Gelderland Liberation Festival, Bevrijdingspop in Haarlemmerhout, and the Overijssel Liberation Festival in Zwolle.
Until 2004, the annual veterans' parade was held in Wageningen in the presence ofPrince Bernhard. After Prince Bernhard's death, the parade was changed to the Liberation Parade on May 5th in Wageningen and the annual National Veterans Day in June in The Hague.
Liberation Day concludes with the televised May 5thconcert in Amsterdam, in the presence of the King and Queen. A different orchestra performs this concert each year, performed on a stage on the water in front of theRoyal Theater Carré on the Amstel River. The concert always concludes with Vera Lynn's "We'll Meet Again," with the King and Queen sailing away in a boat.[14]
The Dutch flag flies at its highest point on May 5th from sunrise to sunset, without an orangepennant (wimpel). A special pennant is available for use on Liberation Day. The pennant may also be used on August 15th, which marks the end of World War II in the former Dutch East Indies.[15]
Media related toLiberation Day (Netherlands) at Wikimedia Commons| National holidays | |
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