4 mei 2017

Remembrance Day

As it is May 4 today I have one more post from the Westerbork Memorial Centre and former camp grounds (see also my previous posts here and here). This is The National Westerbork Memorial, a permanent reminder of its sad history and one of the blackest pages in the history of our country. It is situated at the spot where, during WWII, the railroad from the town of Hooghalen to the camp terminated. After having cut through the entire camp, the train came to a standstill here. (read more on their website)

The memorial signifies the dismay that results from realising what has happened to the Jewish people. The curled up rails express this despair. The memorial was designed in 1970 by Ralph Prins, himself a former prisoner in this camp.

May 4 is 'dodenherdenking' or 'Remembrance of the Dead' in the Netherlands. Every year, people dedicate 2 minutes of silence at 8pm to pay their respects to soldiers and civilians who died during World War II, as well as other military conflicts and peace-keeping missions.

14 opmerkingen:

  1. That is a very powerful memorial. I was a bit too young to serve in WWII, but I've spent a lifetime studying it and teaching about it. The Holocaust, which I thought to be something of an aberration in the 20th century, turns out to have some attraction to more and more people in the 21st and that scares the hell out of me!

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  2. A powerful symbol of a dark period in history.

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  3. Great way to remember those who experienced the horrible destiny.
    The memorial is impressive.

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  4. Very appropriate for the day. Quite stark.

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  5. Mooie foto's van die afschuwelijke plek. Laten we maar volhouden met herdenken of gedenken.

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  6. hier kan men stil bij worden Marleen

    een mooi en sereen logje

    groeten

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  7. What a profound post, Marleen and a powerful visual of this memorial.

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Don't be shy and leave a comment. I'd love to read what you think!