On May 4, electronic signs above and along highways will read ‘Veilig commemorate? Find a parking space, not on the hard shoulder!’. Rijkswaterstaat has been calling on road users via these signs from Tuesday to commemorate safely along the road. The body has been doing this since 2008 at the request of the National Committee for 4 and 5 May.
–
–
During the National Remembrance Day, rail traffic and aviation also take measures around the commemoration moment. For example, public transport is stopped for two minutes at 8 p.m., as long as safety allows. It is not yet known how Schiphol will stand still this year. Due to the crowds at the airport, the airport does not know exactly what the details will be. Schiphol is still discussing this.
–
–
National Freedom Inquiry
A large majority of the Dutch still think it is important to remember the National Remembrance Day on May 4 and Liberation Day a day later. This is reported by the National Committee of 4 and 5 May on the basis of the National Freedom Survey 2022. Of the people who took part in the survey after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, more than six in ten are most concerned about war.
The Dutch consider May 4 and 5 particularly important because of the sense of community and because they consider it essential to reflect on the people who died for freedom. Another factor is the importance of realizing “that something like the Second World War should no longer take place”, says the committee.
The support for May 4 is virtually unaffected: 83 percent indicate that the National Commemoration is (very) important. That was 85 percent a year earlier. There is a slight decrease for Liberation Day. Where last year 79 percent indicated that they attach great importance to this holiday, this is now 75 percent.
–
–
