The
Netherlands has marked its annual day of liberation from Nazi rule in 1945 by
inviting Germany's new President Joachim Gauck to be the first German to
deliver a keynote speech at the Dutch remembrance ceremony.
German
President Joachim Gauck recalled the more than 100,000 Jews deported and
murdered by Nazi Germany after its invasion of the neutral Netherlands in 1940,
the German aerial bombing of Rotterdam, the many Dutch forced into slave labor,
and Dutch resistance fighters who gave their lives.
Gauck was the first German to speak at Dutch WWII commemoration |
May 5, a
Dutch national holiday, marks the moment in 1945 when German forces capitulated
in the Dutch town of Wageningen, near Ahrheim on the lower Rhine. The
Netherlands, then with a population of about eight million, was freed largely
by Canadian troops assisted by British, American and Polish forces.
Gauck in
his speech, which was broadcast live on Dutch and German television, recapped
his central theme, freedom and responsibility, saying even in times of war
individuals could and did make choices, for example, those who tried to save
Jewish children.
The Dutch
resistance illustrated that people "always had a choice," even in
times of war and terror, Gauck said.
Gauck said
he as German head of state could not take for granted "that I stand here
with you today and that I be allowed to address you."
"We
commemorate jointly with everyone the liberation from the National Socialist
yoke," Gauck told his audience, including Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander,
in the Grote Kerk, the main church in the city of Breda.
Astonished
by 1941 protest
While
preparing his speech, Gauck said he was particularly surprised to learn about
the general strike in northern Holland in February 1941. The Dutch had
protested against the deportation of 400 Jews to the death camp at Mauthausen
in Austria
.
And, had people
at the end of the war in 1945 been able to gaze 67 years into the future, then
they would regard the present-day partnerships of the Netherlands and Germany
within the European Union and NATO " simply as paradisical," he
added.
Invaders, Rotterdam, May 1940 |
In a
reference to the recent popular uprisings in northern Africa and the Middle
East, Gauck said when authorities abused the fundamental rights of citizens, it
was "no longer an internal matter."
Gauck, a
former pastor and head of the East German Stasi secret police archives, was
elected president in March.
Since
taking office, Gauck has visited the diplomatic hubs of Brussels and
Strasbourg, and Sweden. His first visit was to Poland.
ipj/ng (AFP, epd, dpa)
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"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Lose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Pedal wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.)
AP Apologizes for Firing Reporter Over WWII Scoop
"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Lose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Pedal wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.)
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