Netherlands commemorates 80th liberation anniversary by 'adopting' fallen US soldiers

euronews (in English)

The Netherlands is commemorating the 80th anniversary of the beginning of its liberation from Nazi Occupation with a concert at a burial ground for American and Allied troops.

Transcript

00:00Residents of the Netherlands are adopting the graves of American soldiers who fell during

00:07the country's liberation from Nazi Germany.

00:11As the 80th anniversary of the occupation looms, descendants of those who died are arriving

00:17in Margraten where the soldiers are buried and meeting with their adopted families.

00:24All the soldiers that are remembered here are adopted and we expect from the adopters

00:28that they visit the grave regularly. Birthday, the day he died, Memorial Day in May, Christmas.

00:36There are always people here running around with flowers and going to their soldier.

00:44People who adopt a grave visit it regularly and leave flowers or reach out to the families

00:48of the dead in the U.S.

00:53It can't be overstated. If we don't take the opportunity to remember, then we lose

01:02the opportunity to understand the significance of their sacrifice. And it's maybe a simple

01:09act of bringing flowers or a larger act of running the program, but at the core, the

01:17Dutch families never want their next generations to forget the sacrifice and the blood that

01:22was spilled for their freedom.

01:25By adopting the American soldiers, locals are vowing to never forget those who lost

01:30their lives fighting against Nazi Germany. The act of remembrance started almost as soon

01:35as the war ended and continues to this day.

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