Grateful Amsterdam Honors Canadian Liberators
Published: May 7, 2005
As a young private from Gaspe, Que., Charles Bouchard wasn’t aware just how big a piece of history he was watching unfold on May 5, 1945, when he stood guard outside the brick hotel where the Germans surrendered Holland to a Canadian general.
But on Thursday, as he stood outside the De Wereld Hotel and watched more than 100,000 Dutch residents turn out for a military parade to mark Liberation Day, the significance of that brief meeting was everywhere.
“The streets were empty, but we had guards at each end,” recalled Bouchard, 80, who served with the Royal 22nd Regiment.
“I remember the Germans seemed to be quite nervous, that’s the impression I had.”
Bouchard said he hoped Gen. Johannes Blaskowitz, German commander-in-chief in the Netherlands, would surrender and the war would be over, but he was kept out of the loop.
“We didn’t know what was happening, we didn’t know we were in the process of helping make history. I only realized it several years later when I learned that it was here that the surrender was worked out.”
But that meeting in the hotel’s dining room, in this town about 100 kilometres southeast of Amsterdam, led Blaskowitz to agree to the terms of a surrender, ending five years of Nazi occupation in Holland that killed more than 230,000.
Bouchard had witnessed the hardships first-hand, crossing back and forth the enemy line to deliver food in the weeks before victory in Europe was declared May 8.
Thursday, it was a vibrant, healthy and grateful Dutch population that welcomed Bouchard and veterans from several Allied ranks represented in the parade.
Thirteen Canadian veterans officially attended the event, which was preceded by a private service attended by Dutch Prince William Alexander, but several others marched under banners such as the Royal Canadian Legion and the Canadian Liberation 60 Band.
The crowd applauded long and loud, hanging out windows, waving, and jumping off the sidewalk to snap photos.
Red, white and blue confetti rained onto aging veterans as they proudly marched, their arms swinging and heads held high.
One veteran insisted on abandoning his wheelchair for a few hundred metres, gripping a uniformed friend’s hand tightly for support before eventually returning to the chair.
Marike Bakker, a 35-year-old homemaker, was one of several people to secure their curb-side positions a full eight hours early.
“I feel very emotional,” said Bakker, a camera draped around her neck.
“I think these veterans are going to die soon, so we as younger people must understand what happened in the Second World War.”
One Canadian watching the day’s events unfold from his Edmonton home was the translator at the armistice table.
Dr. George Molnar, who landed the job in his intelligence role with the 1st Canadian Division, recalls the mood in the room as somewhat sombre.
“They (Germans) behaved as the professional soldiers they were,” Molnar, 82, told The Canadian Press in a telephone interview.
“They were downhearted, but everyone had known what was coming.”
Molnar was unable to attend the VE-Day ceremonies in the Netherlands, a week-long series of events involving some 1,500 veterans from Canada.
Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson, who attended the event, said this week of commemoration in Holland and the degree of respect for Canada is understandable given the circumstances the Dutch were facing.
“To suddenly see themselves being relieved by young and good-looking troops, that’s what keeps the memory alive,” Clarkson told reporters before the parade.
“When they say ‘Thank you Canada,’ they’re saying thank you to the spirit of Canada.”
Veterans Affairs Minister Albina Guarnieri, who had returned to Canada after greeting the veterans at the airport due to fears about a non-confidence vote in the Commons, flew back to the Netherlands on Thursday and caught up with the veterans at a military tattoo.
She will be joined by Prime Minister Paul Martin, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, NDP Leader Jack Layton and Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe on Monday, when they put their political bickering aside to spend a few hours with the veterans before they head back to Canada on Tuesday.
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