It was the job of the First Canadian Army to drive the Germans out of the Netherlands in the final months of the war. Included in that challenge was taking the Scheldt estuary from the Germans so the Allies could ship supplies up the Scheldt River, which separates western Belgium and southwest Netherlands, to the Belgian port of Antwerp. The port was a crucial link in delivering supplies to Allied troops fighting the Nazis.
The Canadians and their comrades from other Allied nations succeeded, but at the cost of thousands of lives. The five-week battle of the Scheldt was fought under miserable conditions. The weather was cold and wet; the landscape was waterlogged. Mud was an everyday fact of life.
The Canadians pushed on through the Netherlands, liberating the country town by town. Wherever they went, they were greeted warmly by the Dutch, who were joyously grateful to be freed from the German invaders.
The Dutch had suffered greatly under the Germans, especially during what became known as De Hongerwinter 鈥� the winter of hunger. The Germans had cut off fuel shipments and food supplies from agricultural areas.
Some soldiers reported entering Dutch homes to find only bodies 鈥� as many as 22,000 Netherlanders died of starvation. As the Canadians advanced, they brought not only freedom, but life-saving food and medicine.
Bonds were established that endure today. Each year 鈥� and especially at 10-year intervals 鈥� the Dutch celebrate De Bevrijding (the liberation) and honour the Canadians who were part of it. Canadian flags line the streets and are displayed on homes. The 2005 commemoration was especially huge, during which visiting Canadian veterans were treated as celebrities. The celebrations were no less heartfelt this year, but the number of veterans returning to the Netherlands has greatly diminished. Most of those who survive are in their 90s.
About 7,600 Canadians were killed liberating the Netherlands, and they are not forgotten, either. The Canadian war cemeteries in the country are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, but local people regularly go to the graveyards to clean headstones and plant extra flowers. On Christmas Eve, children place candles at the graves.
The ties between sa国际传媒 and the Netherlands were furthered strengthened as the Dutch royal family was given refuge here during the war. Ottawa Civic Hospital was temporarily named extraterritorial by the Canadian government for the birth of Princess Margriet. That was so she would not become a Canadian citizen by virtue of being born in sa国际传媒. Each year, the Netherlands sends thousands of tulip bulbs to Ottawa as a gesture of gratitude.
In 2005, as veterans from a Canadian tank regiment marched along the streets of a small town in southwestern Holland, children surrounded the old soldiers, shaking their hands and saying: 鈥淭hank you, sir.鈥�
With tears in his eyes, a veteran said: 鈥淣o one ever said that to me in sa国际传媒.鈥�
The Dutch live constantly with reminders of the war that ended 70 years ago. Some buildings still bear the scars of bullets. War memorials of various kinds abound. Many Dutch cities have streets named sa国际传媒laan. Other streets, squares and parks are named in honour of Canadian regiments and soldiers.
For the people of the Netherlands, end-of-war commemorations celebrate peace and freedom, and what that peace and freedom cost. They will not forget, and neither should we.
