ANPThe commemoration of the February strike at the statue De Dokwerker
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 19:10
During the commemoration of the February strike of 1941, Mayor Halsema of Amsterdam warned of a new rise of resentment. In that context, she pointed to the recent death of Russian opposition leader Navalny and Russian propaganda about the war against Ukraine.
At the statue of The Dokwerker on the Jonas Daniël Meijerplein, Halsema spoke about the courage of the strikers who resisted the first raids in Amsterdam at the beginning of the Second World War. It was the only large-scale strike against the persecution of Jews.
Halsema praised the fearlessness of dockers, factory workers, shop assistants, teachers and civil servants who stood up against the Nazis. Hundreds of Jewish men were arrested on JD Meijerplein shortly before the strike; almost all of them were murdered in death camps.
ANPPublie during the commemoration of the February strike
In her speech, Halsema reflected on the term rancor, which writer Menno ter Braak (1902-1940) spoke about at the beginning of the war. He was one of the few to recognize the signs that led to the raids, Halsema recalled. He spoke of National Socialism as “the doctrine of pure spite,” she said. The mayor then made the link with the present.
New advance
“More than eight decades after the first raids, after the strike, resentment is on the rise again,” Halsema said. In that context, she pointed to the death of Russian opposition leader Navalny, the arrest of Russian citizens who want to publicly mourn his death and Russian propaganda about the war against Ukraine.
“Behind Putin’s worldview, which is filled with hatred of Europe, of human rights and the freedoms we have cherished here since the Second World War, lies deep resentment,” Halsema said.
“If resentment is stirred up by leaders who are prepared to set aside the principles of the democratic constitutional state and use ruthless violence, then we call it – even today – fascism. Jewish workers who lived around this square saw it clearly: fascism is murder, they already chanted in the 1930s.”
Halsema concluded her speech by saying that the workers in 1941 realized that the lack of freedom of one individual means the lack of freedom of all. “That is why we are here, because we must protect democracy, the rule of law and freedom against rancor and hatred, then and now.”
Speaker of the House absent
Speaker of the House Martin Bosma was absent from the wreath laying ceremony that concluded the commemoration. Some organizations did not want him at the commemoration, because in their view his party, the PVV, represents everything the strikers were against. The organization announced earlier this week city channel AT5 know that Bosma himself had decided not to come.
Before the commemoration, a group of people came to the square with Palestinian flags. That led to a minor dispute with the police. The commemoration was not disrupted.
A commemoration in the Nieuw-West district was canceled after calls on X to support the Palestinian resistance during the commemoration. The organization feared that this would lead to unrest.
2024-02-25 18:10:02
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