Commemorations in Opsterland

On behalf of the Opsterland municipal council, Mayor Andries Bouwman and council members Durk Durksz, Rob Jonkman, Marcel van Opzeeland, and Libbe de Vries attended the commemorative events this evening in Wijnjewoude, Beetsterzwaag, Tijnje, Langezwaag, and Gorredijk. 

All of them emphasized the importance of continuing to commemorate. In a few years, there will be no more eyewitnesses to World War II. They also reflected on the events that took place in the villages during the war. 

Mayor Bouwman recently spoke with Joke Boonstra-Nust, who lived through the war as a young girl in and around the village. These are stories that leave a deep impression every time. But people are also slow to learn, Bouwman observed. Even now, the clang of weapons can be heard in many parts of the world. 

“Today we stand, quite literally, at the graves of those who gave their lives for our freedom. But when I look at the world today, I see enormous discontent, a coarsening of society, and once again, so much war. I see images and stories of people who, just like 81 years ago, are being oppressed, locked up in prisons, and murdered. I see peoples being driven from their homes and cities being wiped off the map. I see tyrants rising who, with tough talk, fan the flames of hatred. I see a growing belief in the falsehoods presented to us and how we are discouraged from seeking the truth for ourselves.

But above all, I see forgetfulness. We have forgotten that we have already been through this misery once before. That the violence, the chaos, and the screaming that took place in the Netherlands 81 years ago are now taking place in Ukraine, Lebanon, Gaza, Iran, Sudan, and many, many other places around the world.

We have forgotten how to be compassionate; we have forgotten how to empathize with others. Because that is the antidote to all evil: being compassionate and genuinely interested in others. We are deeply troubled by what is happening in the world, but we often just shrug it off. We’d rather not watch the news anymore. And therein lies the danger of a repeat of what happened in the years leading up to and during World War II. Because if we shrug our shoulders, if we aren’t alert to the changes taking place, if we don’t approach those changes critically, then ultimately we fail to grasp how far-reaching the consequences can be.

Marcel van Opzeeland spoke at the war memorial in Langezwaag. “The names on the plaque remind us that freedom cannot be taken for granted. Behind those names lie lives, stories, families, and villages that were touched by war. They make it clear that history is not something that exists only in books, but something that is still palpable here, in this very place. Remembrance helps us realize what is at stake when freedom disappears. It is not just about the past, but also about our awareness of the present.”

Alderman de Vries reminisced about his childhood in Gorredijk. Although he did not experience the war himself, he said it was always present at home. “In small things. In the atmosphere. In stories. My parents—my father and mother, Roel and Tryntsje—were in the army. They got through the war well, though it was still a different time.” 

“We are all heirs to history,” says De Vries. “And with that comes a responsibility. Because we don’t just want to understand how it happened. We also have to ask ourselves why it still happens. Why are people still persecuted for who they are? Why do societies let things get this far again?”

Waging war is never the solution, said Alderman Durksz in Beetsterzwaag. “The suffering that people inflict on one another in this world must stop. It certainly seems as if the whole world is on fire. War is never the solution. Keep talking to one another, no matter how much your opinions differ. And never stop remembering. Today we remember, and tomorrow we celebrate freedom!” 

According to Alderman Jonkman, who was present in Tijnje, celebrating freedom has a different meaning for every generation. Furthermore, research shows that postwar generations place great value on remembrance and celebration. 

Thanks to the conviction, courage, and dedication of many, and with the help of others, tyranny was driven out during the years 1940–1945, according to Jonkman. “By contrasting freedom with others’ experiences of lack of freedom, oppression, and occupation, it becomes clear that freedom, which we often take for granted, requires constant effort.”