Artigenda
Dutch National Holocaust Memorial
Wanneer: jaarlijks, laatste zondag van januari.
On the last Sunday of January, all Dutch victims of the Holocaust are commemorated during the Dutch National Holocaust Memorial. The day was previously known as Auschwitz Remembrance Day.
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Last Sunday of the month
That the last Sunday in January was chosen was logical. The commemoration was about the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp on January 27, 1945. That commemoration is commemorated internationally as the International Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust. That day takes place at the former camp itself. The commemoration on the last Sunday in January takes place in Amsterdam’s Wertheim Park. There, the Mirror Monument “Never Again Auschwitz” is located. This monument was designed in 1977 by Jan Wolkers (October 26, 1925 – October 19, 2007). This monument was once located in Amsterdam’s Ooster Cemetery, but was moved to Wertheim Park in 1993.
Source: Delpher.
History of the commemoration
Previously, the commemoration was known as Auschwitz Remembrance. At the time, the first commemoration was linked to the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp on January 27, 1945, by troops of the Soviet army. This commemoration did not take place in the Netherlands. The commemoration took place in 1952 and was organised by the Polish government. During the ceremony, ashes from the crematorium were filled into an urn by each national representation. The urn from the Dutch representation was taken back to the Netherlands.
It was not until 1957 that the first Dutch commemoration of Auschwitz victims took place. That took place in the Ooster Cemetery, where the urn had been placed after its arrival in the Netherlands. A stone was added with the text “Nooit meer Auschwitz” (“Never again Auschwitz”). This stone was replaced by the monument designed by Jan Wolkers after a design competition in 1977.
The monument was moved in its entirety to Wertheim Park and that happened in 1993. At that time, the monument was also expanded. This monument consists of broken glass mirrors, symbolising that after Auschwitz, the sky was never unbroken. This is accompanied by the following text:
De hemel blijft voorgoed geschonden. Het is een godsgruwelijke aanslag op alles waar een mens voor staat.
Heaven remains forever violated, a godawful assault on everything a human being stands for.
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
The destruction in 1993
The Mirror Monument was targeted by vandalism in 1993, 1997, 1999, 2004 and 2006. The first vandalism made the most impression, as it took place shortly before the monument was handed over at its new location. Initially, it was assumed that it was vandalised, deliberately, by neo-Nazis.
Initially, it was assumed that this was a deliberate action by neo-Nazis.
Source: Delpher.
The destruction stemmed from a problem that occurred after the monument was moved back to its new location and expanded. A problem had arisen causing condensation to be visible under two panes of glass. This had only been detected shortly before the official ceremony a day before the vandalisation. Six glass panels of the monument were vandalised by a drug-addicted glazier. At the time of discovery, this was just not clear. Hence, far-right motives were thought to be involved.
Source: Delpher.
The monument was buried under flowers a day later. At that time, it was just not clear that the action had been carried out by the glazier. Investigations would reveal this only later. The action would have been carried out at the behest of the company hired to carry out the work. This company denied involvement. The glazier would have received a sum of 1,000 guilders per broken panel. A conviction followed in 1995, consisting of 100 hours of community service. The company was not prosecuted further, due to insufficient evidence.
Yet it was not entirely illogical to assume that the vandalism was by neo-Nazis. A letter was sent, claiming the vandalism on behalf of a right-wing extremist group. It was never made clear whether the letter was written by the perpetrator or not. The report in the Dutch newspaper Het Parool on February 6 did reveal that the director of the company was aware. He decided not to go to the police, the newspaper reported. It was thanks to the team of the television programme Crime Time that the police knew how it all went down.
Source: Delpher.
Vandalism in 1997, 1999 and 2006
Besides the vandalism in 1993, the monument has been vandalised twice more. These happened in 1997, 1999, 2004 and 2006. Only in the latter case was there an accident, as the information column was knocked over, as you can read in this report from the Volkskrant of August 11, 2006. In 2004, read this message from NU.nl, it was about “wantonness.”
In 2017 it was announced that damage had been observed in the front and back of the monument. It was not clear whether this was caused by age or vandalism.
Who is remembered?
This commemoration commemorates the victims of the Holocaust. Previous commemorations covered the victims of the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp. As international attention shifted and widened, it was decided to do the same for this commemoration.
Paying attention to all victims of the Holocaust was a gradual development. It only took until 2005 for the United Nations to take steps to do so. This took place through UN Resolution 60/7. This resolution marked the beginning of the international version of Holocaust commemorations. This is not to say that these were not already taking place.
What's it not
Despite the name, it is not a formal national commemoration. That is not an insult. It has to do with the difference between the National Holocaust Commemoration and the National Remembrance of the Dead (4 May). The latter commemoration does have a national character. In 2011, a request was rejected by the Dutch government to make the National Holocaust Commemoration a national one. This request was announced during the commemoration of 30 January 2011. The rejection was, on the one hand, based on the next of kin who were becoming fewer in number. On the other hand, according to the state secretary for health, the importance of the National Remembrance Day on 4 May played a role. More reasons are described in this archived document.
More information
More information about this day and the commemoration can be found at the website of the Auschwitz Committee. There is a special page available with information about the commemoration itself. More information about the Mirror Memorial can be found via this page.
International Holocaust Commemoration
On 27 January, the world commemorates the Holocaust. This follows the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp. This camp consisted of three main camps, Auschwitz-I (Stammlager), Auschwitz-II/Auschwitz-Birkenau and Auschwitz-III/Auschwitz-Monowitz.
