Remembrance Day Marred By Protests, Vandalism At Amsterdam Ceremony (Worthy News In-Depth)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

AMSTERDAM (Worthy News) – Remembrance Day commemorations for Dutch victims of World War Two, including those who perished in the Holocaust and in later conflicts or peace missions, were overshadowed Monday by protests and vandalism blamed on suspected anti-Israel activists.

Earlier in the day, the national war memorial on Dam Square in Amsterdam was sprayed with red paint and the word “genocide,” just hours before King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima were due to attend the annual ceremony.

Authorities said specialized cleaners managed to remove the paint in time for the live-televised two minutes of silence at 8:00 p.m., attended by thousands, including Jewish families remembering relatives murdered in the Holocaust, also known as the Shoah.

Although organizers described the ceremony as largely orderly, Worthy News reporters heard isolated shouts from a distance, underscoring tensions surrounding the event.

VANDALISM BEFORE CEREMONY

The incidents come amid broader concerns about antisemitism in the Netherlands, which recently prompted Dutch Jewish singer-songwriter Lenny Kuhr to announce plans to relocate to Israel.

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema condemned the vandalism as an “unbelievably cowardly act,” while Prime Minister Rob Jetten called it “idiotic and completely unacceptable,” urging the public to remain united in remembrance.

Police said they were searching for three suspects seen on camera defacing the monument. Authorities also detained at least 13 activists during the day, with some reportedly restrained by officers, according to eyewitnesses.

Last year, the same monument was also targeted with red paint during a large pro-Palestine demonstration in the Dutch capital.

POLICE SEEK SUSPECTS

The unrest reflects ongoing efforts by some activist groups to broaden the scope of May 4 commemorations to include victims of current conflicts, including in Gaza and Sudan.

One activist group said on social media it aimed to make Remembrance Day “meaningful, dignified, and inclusive,” while critics accused such efforts of politicizing a solemn occasion.

In 2024 and 2025, activists notably turned their backs on Martin Bosma, a pro-Israel and Islam-critical politician, when he laid a wreath on behalf of the government.

Jewish organizations stressed that more than 100,000 Dutch Jews were murdered during the Holocaust and warned against linking their memory to contemporary political disputes.

DEBATE OVER COMMEMORATION

The National Coordinator for Combating Antisemitism criticized the protests, saying it showed “great insensitivity” to use a remembrance ceremony to make political points.

Despite tensions, the official ceremony proceeded, with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima laying a wreath at the restored monument.

Mayor Halsema earlier highlighted the role of women in wartime, noting in a speech that women have often stood “at the front lines” as soldiers, doctors, journalists, mothers, and resistance members.

She later described the evening commemoration as “dignified and beautiful,” thanking police, emergency services, cleaners, and volunteers for ensuring the event could proceed.

CEREMONY PROCEEDS

Commemorations were also held across the Netherlands, including at the Waalsdorpervlakte execution site near The Hague, where more than 250 resistance fighters were killed during World War Two.

Additional ceremonies took place at the Grebbeberg military cemetery in Rhenen and at the former concentration camp Kamp Amersfoort, where tens of thousands were imprisoned during the war.

An alternative remembrance event in The Hague focused on both historical and contemporary victims of war.

The nationwide commemorations highlighted both unity and divisions over how the past should be remembered in light of present-day conflicts.

NATIONWIDE EVENTS

For Holocaust survivor Phia Baruch, a Dutch Jewish journalist whose family members were murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau, the tensions surrounding this year’s remembrance were deeply painful.

In a poem shared with Worthy News, she captured enduring grief and faith, underscoring that remembrance, for survivors and their families, extends far beyond a single day. The poem, titled “Remembrance Without End,” reads:

“For me remembrance knoweth not an hour;
What once was lost I bear with silent pow’r—
Without all guilt, without the thirst for ire;
A burden borne, yet free from wrathful fire.

HERMES

I, Hermes, call upon Thee, Lord Most High,
And bow the knee when grimness passeth by;
When from my lips the bitter smile is flown,
I tremble, falling at Thy footstool throne.

Grant Thou the castaway beneath Thy shade
To plead for grace, though all his strength doth fade.

Forgive, O Lord, his lowliness of heart,
His speechless grief, his tongue that faileth part;
For I must tread where shadowed spirits roam,
And guide the souls of death unto their home;
I seal mine ear to hope, to sorrow’s cry,
To final pleas that faint and pass me by.

A single grimness lingereth with me still;
Cold mirth the fragile bark that bears my will.

I must not, cannot, through this veil I wear,
Discern Thy people, nor their burden share;
Yet ’neath this mask, in ashes and in flame,
My spirit crieth forth Thy holy Name.”

Latest Worthy News