Toespraak minister Ollongren bij Nationale herdenking 80 jaar D-day
Toespraak van minister Ollongren (Defensie) bij de Nationale herdenking van 80 jaar D-day in Arromanches-les-Bains in juni 2024. De toespraak is alleen in het Engels beschikbaar.
Monsieur le Ministre, Monsieur le Maire, Mesdames et Messieurs,
Je suis particulièrement honoré de me trouver avec vous dans votre ville en ce jour historique. Car il y a quatre-vingts ans, c’est ici que la liberté de l’Europe a commencé. L’état actuel de la sécurité mondiale rappelle combien il est important de commémorer l’histoire de cette plage, symbole de notre liberté reconquise. Si vous le permettez, je vais poursuivre en néerlandais pour m’adresser à mon compatriote.
Meneer Wolff,
Welkom terug in Arromanches. Bijna 80 jaar geleden zette u hier in 1944 voet aan wal met de verkenningseenheid van de Britse Royal Engineers. Sinds 2003 bent u bijna elk jaar bij deze herdenking aanwezig en ik ben ontzettend blij dat u er vandaag ook weer bent. Uw verhaal geeft kleur aan de zwart-wit beelden uit die tijd. Dank voor uw aanwezigheid – dat is op uw leeftijd niet vanzelfsprekend.
Your Excellencies, Prime Minister, Generals, Wearers of the Commemorative Badge for the Wounded, Men and women of the Royal Netherlands Army’s 17th Armoured Infantry attalion [Princess Irene Regiment], Ladies and Gentlemen,
Sitting here in the front row is Dutch veteran Max Wolff: 98 years old… Holder of the esteemed Légion d’Honneur title in France… Member of the Royal Dutch Princess Irene Brigade… He came ashore here in Normandy in August 1944. At the age of 18, he became one of the thousands of co-authors of European history, working as an interpreter for the British Royal Engineers Corps.
Mister Wolff has attended this remembrance ceremony almost every year since 2003. Today, for the first time, he’s the only Second World War veteran who was able to make the journey from the Netherlands. It is a stark reminder of the decades stretching between our time and the 6th of June 1944.
A full human lifespan between now and then. It emphasizes our obligation, our responsibility and the responsibility of future generations to keep our collective history alive. Stories like Mr Wolff’s and his comrades.
Because their stories, their legacy and their sacrifices are not merely chapters in our history books. They are our collective history. And the lessons that echo through history form the backbone of our free world.
The younger generation is taking over from the last of the wartime generation. The duty of remembrance and the responsibility to uphold peace and freedom rests on new shoulders.
None of us here today can truly understand what it was like liberate a continent, to fight the oppressor, to reclaim freedom from the clutches of autocracy. We can hear the stories, we can read the books or watch the films, but the reality is beyond our grasp. The sacrifices made, the horrors endured, and the bravery shown. And yet, we reap the benefits.
So today, we commemorate for the old soldiers, who sit a little straighter to honour their comrades. We commemorate those who lost family members. For those who know their relatives only through crumpled photographs, forever young.
But just as importantly, we commemorate for the younger generations. Generations that haven’t known war. At least not in their own country, not at their own borders. Generations that have enjoyed freedom for almost eighty years, freedom inaugurated by the heroic deeds of thousands on the beaches of Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.
We commemorate because every single one of us needs to be aware of the horrors of war. We can only live in freedom, because free people were prepared to die for it. Free people, who gave their lives for people they would never meet.
And as we look at the world around us, we hear the echoes of the past. The war in Ukraine, started by a revisionist and autocratic leader, reminds us that the fight for freedom and the need to preserve it is not yet over.
We stand with Ukraine not only because a sovereign country shall determine its own future. But also because their struggle is inextricably linked to our own safety and the future of Europe.
History teaches us we must be prepared to defend our freedom. As we remember those who fought on the beaches of Normandy, let us also be vigilant about the warning signs around us.
I’m thankful that today, there are still young men and women who decide to serve a higher purpose in life: to ensure the freedom and safety of others. As I look at you, the men and women standing here before me, I want to thank you for making that choice.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today, here in Arromanches, let us bow our heads in reverence and gratitude. Let us celebrate the bravery of the men who died on these beaches and honour their sacrifices. And let us also commit ourselves to the ideals for which they fought and died. Because the price of freedom is high, but its value is priceless.
Thank you.