View source for Remembrance of the Dead

{{short description|Dutch day of remembrance of war dead}}
{{About|the Dutch day of remembrance of war-dead||Death customs}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox holiday
|holiday_name  = Remembrance of the Dead
|official_name = ''Dodenherdenking''
|image         = Eerste Krans door de Koning.jpg
|caption       = Commemoration ceremony at [[Dam Square]] in Amsterdam on 4 May 2014
|nickname      = 
|observedby    = Netherlands
|duration      = 1 day
|frequency     = Annual
|scheduling    = same day each year
|date          = 4 May
|observances   = [[Two-minute silence]]
|type          = [[Memorial|Remembrance]]
|significance  = Commemorates all war casualties since the beginning of [[Casualties of World War II|WWII]]
|relatedto     = [[Liberation Day (Netherlands)|Liberation Day]]
}}

'''Remembrance of the Dead ''' ({{langx|nl|Dodenherdenking}}) is held annually on 4 May in the Netherlands.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Dictionary of Dutchness – Dodenherdenking|url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/dictionary/dodenherdenking/|website=DutchNews.nl|access-date=4 May 2015}}</ref> It [[memorialization|commemorates]] all civilians and members of the armed forces of the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]] who have died in wars or [[peacekeeping]] missions since the beginning of the [[World War II|Second World War]].

== Definition ==
Since 2011 the official text of the Memorandum for Remembrance Day on 4 May is as follows:

{{Blockquote|During the national commemoration of Remembrance Day we remember all victims – civilians and soldiers – who have been killed or murdered in the Kingdom of the Netherlands or anywhere else in the world in [[War|war situations]] or during [[Peacekeeping|peace-keeping operations]] since the outbreak of the Second World War.|source=Memorandum 2011<ref>[http://www.4en5mei.nl/english/commemorating Commemorating], The National Committee for 4 and 5 May</ref>}}

It is organized nationally by [[National Committee for 4 and 5 May]], but local committees still apply their own interpretation to the commemorations and also bear responsibility for that interpretation.

== Description ==
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2017}}
[[File:Dodenherdenkingsdag in Amsterdam.ogv|thumb|left|''Dodenherdenking'' in Amsterdam 1962, Dutch newsreel]]

Until 1961 the commemoration only related to the Dutch victims of [[World War II]]. Since 1961, the victims of other military conflicts (such as the [[Indonesian National Revolution]] in Indonesia) and peacekeeping missions (such as in Lebanon or [[Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia]]) are remembered on 4 May as well.

Traditionally, the main ceremonies are observed in Amsterdam at the [[National Monument (Amsterdam)|National Monument]] on [[Dam Square]]. This ceremony is usually attended by members of the cabinet and the [[House of Orange-Nassau|royal family]], military leaders, representatives of the [[Dutch resistance|resistance movement]] and other social groups.

At 20:00, two minutes of [[moment of silence|silence]] is observed across the Netherlands. Public transport is stopped as well as all other traffic. Radio and television only broadcast the ceremonies from 19:00 until 20:30. Since 4 May 1994, flags, having hung at [[half-mast|half-staff]] from 18:00, are then hoisted to the music of the [[Wilhelmus]], the Dutch [[national anthem]]. Since 2001, it is allowed to let the flag hang at half-staff.

The main commemorations in Amsterdam are broadcast by the public broadcaster [[Nederlandse Omroep Stichting|NOS]] and there are ceremonies in all Dutch cities and other places as well. Especially notable are those at the [[Waalsdorpervlakte]] near The Hague where many Dutch resistance fighters were executed during the war, and at the war cemetery [[Grebbeberg]], which are broadcast by the commercial broadcasting companies. In many towns, before or after the two minutes of silence, people gather around a monument, listen to speeches, and lay down flowers to remember the dead.

The next day, on 5 May, people [[Liberation Day (The Netherlands)|celebrate the liberation]] of the nation from the [[Nazi Germany|German]] occupation of 1940 to 1945.

==See also==
*[[Netherlands in World War II]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{official website|http://www.4en5mei.nl }} {{in lang|nl}}
*[http://www.4en5mei.nl/english English summary on official site]

{{Public holidays in the Netherlands}}

[[Category:Dam Square]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Public holidays in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:May observances]]
[[Category:Observances in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Observances honoring victims of war]]