Kingdom of the Netherlands commemorates end of Second World War

The Kingdom of the Netherlands commemorated on Sunday the end of the Second World War for the entire kingdom on August 15, 1945 with a ceremony at the Indian Monument in The Hague. It has been 76 years since the war ended for the Dutch kingdom.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the ambassador of Indonesia ambassador H.E. Mayerfas laid wreaths at the monument.

The victims of the war against Japan and the Japanese occupation in the Dutch East Indies were commemorated. Japanese forces capitulated on August 15, 1945 after the United States dropped atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the war for the former Dutch East Indies. German forces capitulated already on May 5, 1945, the current national Dutch liberation day.

Memorials were also held in various other places in the Netherlands and the flag was raised to half-mast.

The August commemoration has been held every year since 1988. The memorial was held online this year for the second time due to coronavirus restrictions. Normally, thousands of people attend the commemoration. In The Hague, there are gatherings in Museum Sophiahof and the Grote Kerk.

Over two million people were said to have a tie with Dutch East Indies.

2 miljoen Nederlanders hebben een band met Nederlands-Indië. Familie van burgers, militairen en verzetsstrijders die tijdens de Japanse onderdrukking in de Tweede Wereldoorlog onvoorstelbaar leed moesten dragen. Voor de slachtoffers legde ik samen met @MinPres vandaag een krans. pic.twitter.com/AOxp6ECVHE

— Paul Blokhuis (@PaulBlokhuis) August 15, 2021