A delegation of members from the Senate and House of Representatives visited the Waalsdorpervlakte on Monday, March 31. The visit was part of the 80 years of freedom anniversary year that began in September 2024 with the commemoration of the liberation of Southern Netherlands. The board of the Waalsdorp Honorary Platoon Association welcomed the parliamentarians. Both Speakers of the Houses then laid a wreath at the monument on behalf of the States General. After a minute of silence, a tour of the Waalsdorpervlakte followed. The visit concluded at the recently restored Bourdon Bell.
The parliamentarians were received by Donald van Pelt, chairman of the Waalsdorp Honorary Platoon Association. About 35 members then walked with board members of the association in the silent procession to the monument, along the same route that is also followed annually on May 4. House Speaker Martin Bosma and Senate Speaker Jan Anthonie Bruijn then laid a wreath at the monument. Subsequently, the attendees walked to the execution site where from the beginning of 1941 until the end of World War II, 250 resistance fighters were executed.
During the Remembrance of the Dead on May 4, the Bourdon Bell is sounded from the beginning of the silent procession until the last visitor has passed the monument. The bell bears a quote from Professor Rudolf Cleveringa, who openly spoke out against the dismissal of his Jewish colleagues by the German occupiers at Leiden University: I ring for the glory and following of those who gave their lives to prevent injustice, to win freedom, and to warn and elevate all of the Netherlands spiritual goods. The visit to the Waalsdorpervlakte was an initiative of the House of Representatives, with the Senate joining.
The Waalsdorpervlakte is a plain in the dune area of Meijendel between Wassenaar and The Hague. It served as a military training ground for Camp Waalsdorp for a long time. During World War II, more than 250 people were executed there by the German occupiers. After the war, the site became a war memorial. The commemoration on the Waalsdorpervlakte began as a civilian initiative. In 1945, former resistance members gathered to commemorate their fallen comrades at the Waalsdorpervlakte. Annually on May 4, there is a silent procession past the monument.
Since April 30, 1959, the Bourdon Bell has been in service at the Waalsdorpervlakte. The bell was paid for by the citizens of The Hague and donated to the Municipality of The Hague. Its recognizable deep sound has been heard during the Remembrance of the Dead on May 4 ever since. At the end of 2024, the bell was removed for restoration. The bell frame was renewed and the hanging mechanism fully restored. In early March 2025, the bell was reinstalled, well in time for the commemoration on May 4.
At various times and places, 80 years of freedom are celebrated and commemorated from September 2024. On September 12, 1944, the South Limburg village of Mesch was the first village in the Netherlands to be liberated by the Allied Americans. The liberation of the Kingdom took almost another year from that moment and was accompanied by much fighting, casualties, and a hunger winter. On May 5, 1945, the Netherlands was liberated, and on August 15, 1945, the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands. On the website of the States General, you can read with whom and where the States General will be present this year to commemorate and celebrate 80 years of freedom.