Holton War Cemetery. Image via https://www.cwgc.org/
Canadian veterans honoured as the Netherlands marks 80 years of liberation
Hundreds gathered in the Netherlands this weekend to mark the 80th anniversary of the country’s liberation from Nazi occupation by Canadian troops, a moment still commemorated with deep gratitude and reverence.
At the heart of the ceremonies was a solemn address by Canada’s Governor General, Mary Simon, delivered at the Holten Canadian War Cemetery, where roughly 1,350 Canadian soldiers lie at rest, most of whom fell in the final push into northern Germany.
“Holten Canadian War Cemetery is—for Canada—a place of deep reflection,” Simon said. “Here, we remember what was sacrificed to liberate the people of the Netherlands from the German stranglehold they had been forced to live under for five long and brutal years.”
Twenty-two Canadian veterans, including one 105 years old, made the journey to the Netherlands to take part in the commemorations. The visit marked eight decades since Canadian Lieutenant-General Charles Foulkes accepted the surrender of Nazi forces in the town of Wageningen on May 5, 1945 — a date now celebrated annually as Liberation Day in the Netherlands.
The Governor General described the enduring legacy of that moment, not just in military terms but in the emotional bond forged between nations.
“Our soldiers had come to Europe well-prepared for the challenge that lay ahead… But what they could not have been prepared for, would be the deep gratitude the Dutch people have felt, and continue to feel, for those who helped them to be free,” she said.
Simon reflected on the human cost of that freedom, calling attention to the unbreakable bonds formed in battle, the brutal realities of war, and the heavy toll carried by the liberators.
“They would have been well-aware that these could be the last lands they would ever contest in this epic struggle of good versus evil,” she said. “With the end of the war came relief for the liberated, but also the realization that liberation had come at a heavy, almost unthinkable cost.”
The cemetery, surrounded by spring blooms and quiet fields, remains a potent symbol of the peace Canadian soldiers fought and died for.
“It is said that the spring of 1945 was the ‘sweetest of all seasons’ for the Dutch people and Canadian troops who lived through the Second World War,” Simon said. “May we continue to honour their memory and strive to uphold the values they so bravely defended.”
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