75 years
of living
in freedom
In 2020, we were expecting many celebrations in the Netherlands to mark 75 years since the end of the Second World War. Due to COVID-19, the planned festivities were cancelled and celebrations and commemorations were mainly held online out of necessity. Here at ARQ, we too marked 75 years of living in freedom in the Netherlands as a milestone. At ARQ, we reflect on war and the consequences of war not just in an anniversary year but during every day of every year.
In 2020 zou groots gevierd worden dat de Tweede Wereldoorlog 75 jaar achter de rug is. Vanwege corona konden de geplande festiviteiten niet doorgaan en gebeurde het herdenken en vieren noodgedwongen voornamelijk online. Ook bij ARQ beleefden we 75 jaar leven in vrijheid als mijlpaal. Stilstaan bij oorlog en de gevolgen daarvan doen we bij ARQ echter niet alleen in zo’n kroonjaar, maar elke dag en elk jaar weer.
Cherish freedom
‘At ARQ, we believe it is important to celebrate 75 years of freedom,’ says Annelieke Drogendijk, director of ARQ Centre of Expertise for War, Persecution and Violence. ‘But we prefer to talk about cherishing freedom. At ARQ, we work on many fronts with people who have been unable to live in freedom. It started with the treatment of traumatized resistance fighters and camp victims from Europe and the Dutch East-Indies. This was later followed by therapy for the children of those war victims. At the moment, we are seeing many people who have fled from war zones elsewhere. We also provide support for local and other aid workers in conflict regions. In Western Europe, we celebrated 75 years of freedom in 2020, but a country like Iraq – where we also have close contacts with local organizations – has already been living in war, conflict and repression for a hundred or so years. What does this do to people, to a society? War causes disruption.’
War within yourself
While most Dutch people talk about 75 years of freedom, older patients at ARQ have had to live with ‘the war within themselves’ for decades. For this reason, ARQ published a special essay in 2020 with the title: ‘De tweede minuut stilte’ [The second minute of silence] (only in Dutch). It explains what few people know about the two minutes of silence during a commemoration: that we observe a first minute of silence to remember those who died and that the purpose of the second minute is to think about those people who survived the war but who often have to live with the most horrendous memories and terrible loss.
Bringing up memories
For people who have experienced the war, old images of war shown in the media during the remembrance days in May and August can bring up memories of the past. When modern-day images emerged during the COVID-19 crisis of fellow citizens in the Netherlands stockpiling food and toilet paper, many elderly people became frightened. The past and present became intertwined. ARQ published ‘Ouder worden met de oorlog’ [Growing older with the war] (only in Dutch) to make staff in care homes aware of this situation and to provide suggestions on how to deal with it. This information was distributed by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport to all care homes in the Netherlands.
Rituals
In 2020, ARQ and the National Committee for 4 and 5 May completed a four-year study into rituals. of commemoration. How can we keep these rituals alive? What are the active constituents involved? And how can we keep these memories alive for generations to follow? The study results will also be incorporated into our advice on commemorations in the coming years. In 2020, ARQ and the National Committee contributed ideas and recommendation in various workshops on the organization of online commemorations in this COVID-19 year.
Resilience
ARQ has spent many years working on the impact of the disruptive force of war. ‘However,’ Annelieke Drogendijk concludes. ‘We also see that people do carry on, despite the terrible things that they sometimes experience. This resilience continues to be a miracle, and it is also something that we must cherish.