Thousands gathered in The Hague to commemorate the end of World War II in the Pacific
Thousands gathered at the Indies Monument in The Hague on Friday to commemorate the end of World War II in the Pacific, 80 years after Japan surrendered, NOS reports. King Willem-Alexander delivered his first speech at the National Indies Remembrance of August 15.
“Remembrance is never easy and can never be gratuitous,” the king said. “Together remembering also means: thinking together about difficult and confronting questions.”
King Willem-Alexander spoke about the central role of the Dutch East Indies in the Netherlands’ history. He highlighted the “chilly reception” repatriates faced after returning home and praised the “resilience of families who fought to secure their place in the country” in the postwar years. After the address, the king laid the first wreath at the Indies Monument.
Among the dignitaries attending the The Hague ceremony were caretaker Prime Minister Schoof, the chairs of the Eerste and Tweede Kamer, NATO chief Mark Rutte, and The Hague Mayor Van Zanen.
Remembrances also took place across the country, including in Amsterdam, where an alternative ceremony on the Dam focused on former KNIL soldiers and acknowledged the Bersiap period, a violent anti-colonial uprising in Indonesia following World War II.
Thom de Graaf, outgoing chairman of the National Remembrance Foundation August 15, stressed that the official May 5 liberation marked the end of the German occupation, but the war against Japan continued for more than three months afterward. “In those three months and long after, thousands in the Indies archipelago died from exhaustion, disease, malnutrition, and extreme violence. We honor them all here,” De Graaf told NOS.
