Mei Li Vos and Roelien Kamminga, Vice Chairs of the Senate and House of Representatives, attended the annual commemoration of the February Strike on Tuesday, February 25. On behalf of the States General, they laid a wreath at The Dockworker, the monument for the strike at Jonas Daniël Meijerplein in Amsterdam.
During the commemoration, speeches were made by journalist Sheila Sitalsing and Jaïr Stranders, chair of the February Strike 1941 Commemoration Committee. Writer Marjolijn van Heemstra recited a poem written especially for the occasion, and singer-songwriter Ahmad Naffory provided a musical contribution.
About the February Strike
The February Strike took place 84 years ago, on February 25 and 26, 1941. The strike began in Amsterdam with the halting of trams in the city and spread to the Zaan region, Haarlem, Velsen, Weesp, Hilversum, and the city of Utrecht. The Germans harshly suppressed the strike, resulting in nine deaths and 24 serious injuries, with many strikers being imprisoned.
On March 13, 1941, three February strikers were executed at the Waalsdorpervlakte near Scheveningen. The strike was prompted by the first large raids on February 22 and 23, 1941, in Amsterdam, during which hundreds of Jewish men were arrested. The February Strike was the first large-scale act of resistance in the Netherlands against the German occupiers.