Author: Stew Ross

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May 5, 1945

Unknown Soldier Cross. Photo by Visserp (2013). PD-CCA-Share Alike 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.
Unknown Soldier Cross. Photo by Visserp (2013). PD-CCA-Share Alike 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

Posting this blog on the fifth of each May has become a tradition for me.

Liberation Day (also known as Freedom Day) for the Netherlands (Holland) was 5 May 1945. Canadian forces along with other Allied forces were able to obtain the surrender of German forces in the small Dutch town of Wageningen. This led to the complete German surrender and liberation of the country. The Netherlands was one of the last European countries to be liberated. Two days later in Reims, Generaloberst Alfred Jodl signed the document for the unconditional surrender of the German armies.

Did You Know?

Did you know that for the past thirty years, “Wreaths Across America” has been responsible for placing holiday wreaths on thousands of American military graves? The secularist non-profit organization, “The Military Religious Freedom Foundation” (MRFF) has declared this tradition to be “unconstitutional, an atrocity, and a disgrace.” They believe the wreath-laying to be the “desecration of non-Christians veterans’ graves.” The MRFF says, “. . . forcing the non-Christian dead who didn’t celebrate Christmas in life to celebrate it in death.” Perhaps we should all take the position that the wreaths are really meant to celebrate, remember, and honor American veterans, fallen or otherwise.

Wreaths standing at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as part of Wreaths Across America. Photo by Manuel Balce Ceneta (18 December 2020). Associated Press.
Wreaths standing at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as part of Wreaths Across America. Photo by Manuel Balce Ceneta (18 December 2020). Associated Press.

Netherlands American Cemetery (Margraten)

There is a cemetery near Maastricht. It is the final resting spot for 8,301 American soldiers and a memorial for 1,722 men missing in action. They were the casualties of Operation Market Garden (17–25 September 1944) and other battles aimed at liberating Holland. Operation Market Garden was a failed Allied attempt to liberate Holland while on their march to Germany and Berlin. Other military cemeteries are located nearby for the British and Canadian men who did not survive the battle. Learn more about Operation Market Garden here.

American World War II Cemetery in Margraten, The Netherlands. Photo by Kees Verburg (2014). PD-CCA-Share Alike 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.
American World War II Cemetery in Margraten, The Netherlands. Photo by Kees Verburg (2014). PD-CCA-Share Alike 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

Four generations of Dutch families have adopted every man who perished in the battle. Each man’s grave is kept up and decorated by their adopted family. Every Memorial Day, American Embassy staff greets the Dutch families as they arrive at the cemetery to lay down flowers and wreaths. Even a portrait of their adopted soldier sits in their respective homes.

Townspeople at Margraten cemetery to lay wreaths
Townspeople arriving at Margraten Cemetery to lay wreaths and flowers on their adopted soldier’s grave. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Nathan Wilkes, Joint Base Lewis-McChord Garrison Public Affairs.

“Face of  Margraten” was started by a young Dutch man to preserve the image of each of the fallen soldiers. About eight thousand images have been collected and every two years, each grave is marked with the image of its occupant.

John J. Lister killed in action on 7 April 1945 – 48 Infantry Batalion – 7th Armored Division – C Company. Photo by Erfgoed in Beeld (2006). PD-CCA-Share Alike 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.
John J. Lister killed in action on 7 April 1945 – 48 Infantry Batalion – 7th Armored Division – C Company. Photo by Erfgoed in Beeld (2006). PD-CCA-Share Alike 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.

 

Hongerwinter

Tribute to Dutch Women of the Winter of Hunger. Photo by Peter de Wit (2008). Tile made by ‘De Porceleyne Fles’ in Delft, Netherlands. PD-CCA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.
Tribute to Dutch Women of the Winter of Hunger. Photo by Peter de Wit (2008). Tile made by ‘De Porceleyne Fles’ in Delft, Netherlands. PD-CCA 2.0. Wikimedia Commons.

The Dutch railway workers called a strike before the battle began believing it would increase the chances of success by the Allied forces. The Allied efforts failed and Holland would have to wait another seven months to be liberated. In retaliation for the rail strike, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, the Nazi leader in charge of the German occupation of Holland, refused to allow any food into the country. Holland was literally being starved to death during the 1944-1945 Hongerwinter (winter of hunger). More than 20,000 people died that winter of starvation. By the end of the war, subsistence was four hundred calories per person. Seyss-Inquart was one of the Nuremberg defendants tried, convicted, and executed for various war crimes, including those committed in Holland. Watch a news clip here.

Liberation Day

Every May on the fifth, Liberation Day is celebrated in Holland. For two minutes, everything and everybody stops while the church bells ring. At the end of the day, a concert is held. Beginning in 1965 (the 20th anniversary of the liberation), Nino Rossi’s taps called “Il Silenzio” is played as the final piece of the concert.

As a 10-year-old living in the city of Wassenaar during the 1960s, I’ll never forget stopping on the street wherever we were when the church bells began to ring. We stopped talking and listened to the bells ring for 2 minutes—every year.

I invite you to click on the following link and listen to a 13-year-old Dutch girl, Melissa Venema, play “Il Silenzio” during the 2008 concert celebrating the liberation of Holland. The Royal Orchestra of the Netherlands backs her up. It is very moving—at least for the former 10-year-old boy growing up in Holland.

Grab a tissue before you listen to this.  I do.

President’s Speech

“On this peaceful May morning we commemorate a great victory for liberty, and the thousands of white marble crosses and Stars of David underscore the terrible price we pay for that victory. For the Americans who rest here, Dutch soil provides a fitting home. It was from a Dutch port that many of our pilgrim fathers first sailed to America. It was a Dutch port that gave the American flag its first gun salute. It was the Dutch who became one of the first foreign nations to recognize the independence of the new United States of America. And when American soldiers returned to this continent to fight for freedom, they were led by a President (Roosevelt) who owed his family name to this great land.”

George W. Bush

President of the United States

28 May 2005

Netherlands American Cemetery

Recommended Reading and Viewing

Levin, Joseph E. (Producer). A Bridge Too Far. United Artists, 1977.

Matzen, Robert. Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II. Pittsburgh, PA: GoodKnight Books, 2019.

Disclaimer:

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The Missing Emperor

The longer one spends in Paris (or any city for that matter), certain questions ultimately arise over innocuous issues. Sandy and I are interested in the history of the City of Light and over time we notice little things that lead to more questions. For example, after multiple trips to Paris to research our first two books (Where Did They Put the Guillotine? Volumes 1 & 2 ), it occurred to me that there were no major statues commemorating the French Revolution or the revolutionaries (other than Danton’s statue or several located in the exterior alcoves of city hall). I found old postcards showing photos of statues dedicated to the revolution, but they are all gone now. Why? I found the answer while researching the current books on the German occupation of Paris (Where Did They Put the Gestapo Headquarters? ). During the occupation, the French melted down most of the bronze statues to provide ingots that were used to repay German reparations and cover the cost of the occupation forces. (Click here to read the blog, Statuemania.)

Jean-Paul Marat’s bronze statue dismantled and waiting to be melted down
Jean-Paul Marat’s bronze statue dismantled and waiting to be melted down. Photo by Pierre Jahan (c. 1941). https://gittemangallery.com

Today’s topic deals with a similar type of issue but I’m not sure I have found the answer to my question. During the mid-19th-century, Paris was “reborn” when it was transformed into a modern city by Emperor Napoléon III and his préfet, Baron Georges Haussmann. Over a period of 17-years, day and night demolition and construction created the city we all love today. The wide avenues, homogenous architecture known as Haussmann buildings, and beautiful parks are all sights we can identify with and enjoy. However, there are many other infrastructure improvements, some visible and some not, that Napoléon III was responsible for initiating.

Napoléon III marble bust
Marble bust of Napoléon III. Sculpture by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (c. 1873). Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Considering the immense contributions by the emperor, I wonder why there are no memorials, statues, or commemorative plaques to Napoléon III. The city’s transformation did not come cheap. There were considerable costs with ramifications that can still be felt more than 170-years later. Have the French not forgiven Napoléon III for these negative costs or maybe perhaps, that he lost a war to the Prussians?

(This blog is based on my two-hour lecture, The Destruction and Renovation of Nineteenth Century Paris.)

Did you Know?

Did you know that Notre Dame is beginning to give up some of its secrets? During the recent efforts to save the cathedral after the devastating fire in April 2019, two lead sarcophaguses were discovered buried beneath the nave. One contains the remains of a high priest, Antoine de la Porte, who died on Christmas Eve 1710 at the age of eighty-three. The occupant of the second sarcophagus was likely a young, wealthy, and privileged noble from the 14th-century. (He was in his 30s and based on the pelvic bones, considered to be an expert horseman.)

Their remains were located about one meter (3.3 feet) below the cathedral floor. However, there were other items found at a lesser depth. These buried treasures included statues, sculptures, and fragments of the cathedral’s original 13th-century rood screen.

Notre-Dame excavation site with two lead sarcophaguses.
The French culture minister visits the Notre-Dame excavation site where two lead sarcophaguses were discovered. Photo by Julien de Rosa (c. 2022). Julien de Rosa/AFP/Getty Images.

As I’ve said before, one of the world’s greatest museums lies twelve feet below the surface of Paris but the French do not take too kindly to people digging up their city. Archeological finds are normally found only when basements are renovated or associated with construction on métro stations. (Please note that the remains of the two men are not considered “archeological objects” and will be returned to the Paris cultural ministry for proper burial.) France’s national archeological institute, Inrap, is responsible for the dig at Notre Dame and the objects found there.

For additional reading, please refer to my past blogs, Stop the Presses: Skeletons and Not Buildings (click here) and Paris Digs (click here).

14th-century sarcophagus Notre-Dame Paris.
The 14th-century sarcophagus. Photo by Julien de Rosa (c. 2022). Julien de Rosa/AFP/Getty Images.

Medieval Paris 

Founded in the 3rd-century by the Parisii tribe, Paris was originally settled by the Romans in 52 B.C. on what we call today, the Left Bank (the Right Bank was marshland). The city was then known as Lutetia. Other than an old arena, several remnants of the city’s Roman aqueduct system, and some odds and ends, there is no evidence of the Roman settlement. The two best sites in Paris to experience medieval life is to visit the Musée national du Moyen Âge Paris, or Musée de Cluny and the Crypte archéologique de l’île de la Cité, or the Archeological Crypt. (The Panthéon sits on the site of the ancient Roman forum.) Read More The Missing Emperor