Liberation Day (Netherlands)

Liberation Day
Parade on Liberation Day 1960 in Utrecht
Official name	Bevrijdingsdag
Observed by	Netherlands
Type	National Day
Date	5 May
Celebrations	Music festivals
Related to	Liberation of the Netherlands from German occupation during World War II

Music festival on Liberation Day 2008 in Zwolle

In the Netherlands, Liberation Day (Dutch: Bevrijdingsdag) is celebrated each year on May 5th, to mark the end of the occupation by Nazi Germany during World War II.

The nation was liberated largely by Canadian troops, with the assistance of the British and American Armies (see Operation Market Garden) and French airborne (see Operation Amherst). On the 5th of May 1945, the Canadian General Charles Foulkes and the German Commander-in-Chief Johannes Blaskowitz reached an agreement on the capitulation of German forces in the Netherlands in Hotel de Wereld in Wageningen. One day later, the capitulation document was signed in the auditorium of Wageningen University, located next-door to the hotel.

After the liberation in 1945, Liberation Day was commemorated every 5 years. Finally, in 1990, the day was declared to be a national holiday, when the liberation would be commemorated and celebrated every year.

On May 4th, the Dutch hold the Remembrance of the Dead for the people who fought and died during World War II, and in wars in general. There is a remembrance gathering in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam and at the National Monument on Dam Square in Amsterdam. Throughout the country, two minutes of silence are observed at 8:00 p.m. On May 5th, the liberation is celebrated and festivals are held at most places in the Netherlands.

See also

• Liberation Day
• Liberation of Arnhem
• Public holidays in the Netherlands
• Remembrance of the Dead
• Victory in Europe Day
• World War II

External links

• (Dutch) Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei
• WWII: Liberation of the Netherlands - Canada at War
• 1st Polish armoured division liberating Netherlands
• 4th Canadian armoured division liberating Netherlands