The National Remembrance 15 August 1945 (Dutch : Nationale Herdenking 15 augustus 1945) is an annual event at the Indies Monument in The Hague, the Netherlands, to commemorate the end of the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies and the end of World War II. [1] Taking place every 15 August since 1988, [2] it is also known as the National Indies Remembrance (Dutch : Nationale Indiëherdenking). [3]
For the Kingdom of the Netherlands, World War II officially came to an end on 15 August 1945, while this already applied to the Netherlands proper on 5 May 1945 with the end of World War II in Europe. [1] For the two million Indo Dutch in the Netherlands, there was no commemoration of the events of the Second World War in the Dutch East Indies and their consequences. It wasn't until 1988 that an opportunity for their own annual commemoration arose. [2]
On 15 August 1970, a one-off commemoration of the surrender of Japan and the end of World War II in Southeast Asia took place in The Hague for the first time. Because there appeared to be a need from survivors and relatives to commemorate this historical period more extensively, this led to the foundation of the 15 August Commemoration Foundation on 25 March 1980 by 24 Indo Dutch organizations. [2]
At the Indies Monument in The Hague, all victims of the Japanese occupation in the Dutch East Indies and its direct consequences have been commemorated since 1988. [4] The melati, the Arabian jasmine, is worn as a symbol that stands for respect, involvement and compassion. [5]
On this day, general flag protocol, as drawn up by the prime minister, applies. This means that on 15 August all government buildings will be flagged extensively to honor the formal end of the Second World War. [6] [7]
Remembrance of the Dead is held annually on May 4 in the Netherlands. It 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 Second World War.
The Hague is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam, The Hague has been described as the country's de facto capital since the time of the Dutch Republic.
Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in the line of duty. The day is also marked by war remembrances in several other non-Commonwealth countries. In most countries, Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of First World War hostilities. Hostilities ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918, in accordance with the armistice signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente between 5:12 and 5:20 that morning. The First World War formally ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919.
The Indonesian National Revolution, also known as the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during postwar and postcolonial Indonesia. It took place between Indonesia's declaration of independence in 1945 and the Netherlands' transfer of sovereignty over the Dutch East Indies to the Republic of the United States of Indonesia at the end of 1949.
Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official end of World War II in Europe in the Eastern Front, with the last known shots fired on 11 May.
Victory over Japan Day is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. The term has been applied to both of the days on which the initial announcement of Japan's surrender was made – 15 August 1945, in Japan, and because of time zone differences, 14 August 1945 – as well as to 2 September 1945, when the surrender document was signed, officially ending World War II.
Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of Fall Gelb. On 15 May 1940, one day after the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces surrendered. The Dutch government and the royal family relocated to London. Princess Juliana and her children sought refuge in Ottawa, Canada until after the war.
The Homomonument is a memorial in the centre of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. It commemorates all gay men and lesbians who have been persecuted because of their sexual orientation. Opened on 5 September 1987, it was the first monument in the world to commemorate gays and lesbians who were killed by the German Nazi regime.
Jannetje Johanna (Jo) Schaft was a Dutch resistance fighter during World War II. She became known as "the girl with the red hair". Her secret name in the resistance movement was "Hannie".
From 1900 to 1940, the Netherlands experienced significant population growth. This era included significant colonial expansion, particularly in the Dutch East Indies, coupled with the challenges posed by World War I and the Great Depression. Although the Netherlands maintained neutrality during World War I, its strategic geographic location and colonial resources had profound implications for its economic and political stability. The period saw the rise of socialism and labor unrest, which were partly driven by industrialization and the shifting dynamics of Dutch society.
The Cenotaph is a war memorial constructed in 1923 and located between Statue Square and the City Hall in Central, Hong Kong, that commemorates the dead in the two world wars who served in Hong Kong in the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. Built in stone, it is an almost exact replica of the Cenotaph on Whitehall in London, UK. It is listed as a monument under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance.
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies, was a Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which declared independence on 17 August 1945. Following the Indonesian War of Independence, Indonesia and the Netherlands made peace in 1949. In the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, the Dutch ceded the governorate of Dutch Malacca to Britain, leading to its eventual incorporation into Malacca (state) of modern Malaysia.
In Dutch historiography, Bersiap refers to the violent and chaotic beginning of the Indonesian National Revolution following the end of World War II in Asia. In Indonesia, the term Berdaulat ("Sovereign") is also used for this transitional period. It began after Sukarno's proclamation of Indonesian Independence on 17 August 1945 and culminated during the power vacuum between the withdrawal of Japanese occupational forces and the gradual buildup of a British military presence, before the official handover to a Dutch military presence in March 1946.
Verdi Phefferkorn von Offenbach, better known as Paatje Phefferkorn, was an Indo practitioner of the Indonesian martial art Pencak Silat in the Netherlands. As one of its best known teachers he has played an important role in increasing the popularity of this Martial Art in the Netherlands and Europe.
The Indies Monument is a memorial in The Hague in memory of all Dutch citizens and soldiers killed during World War II as a result of the Japanese occupation (1942–1945) of the former Dutch East Indies. It is dedicated to all who died in battle, in prison camps or during forced labor. As stated in the mission statement of the 15 August 1945 Commemoration Foundation, it is also:
A place where you can pass on to your children the part of your childhood spent in the Dutch East Indies
The National Monument on Dam Square is a 1956 cenotaph in Amsterdam, Netherlands. A national Remembrance of the Dead ceremony is held at the monument every year on 4 May to commemorate the casualties of World War II and subsequent armed conflicts.
The bombing of the Bezuidenhout took place on March 3, 1945, when the Royal Air Force mistakenly bombed the Bezuidenhout neighborhood in the Dutch city of The Hague, resulting in the death of 532 people.
The 1947 Yogyakarta Dakota incident occurred when a Douglas C-47 Skytrain was carrying medical supplies to the de facto republican government of Indonesia at Yogyakarta which crashed on 29 July 1947.
The Netherlands Indies Civil Administration was a semi-military organisation, established in April 1944, tasked with the restoration of civil administration and law of Dutch colonial rule after the capitulation of the Japanese occupational forces in the Dutch East Indies at the end of World War II.
The Indo people or Indos are Eurasian people living in or connected with Indonesia. In its narrowest sense, the term refers to people in the former Dutch East Indies who held European legal status but were of mixed Dutch and indigenous Indonesian descent as well as their descendants today.