The Liberty Tour returned to Drenthe earlier than expected. In recent days, a special ‘mini version’ of the event was held, in which military vehicles from the time of the liberation of Drenthe in 1945 marched in a parade through the Kop van Drenthe.
Normally the Liberty Tour is held once every five years. The fact that the event has already returned is because part of Drenthe was not or hardly visited during the previous edition. That edition was dedicated to 80 years of liberation.
“We skipped a part. We didn’t get to the Kop van Drenthe,” says organizer Sjoerd Looijenga. “We did receive some complaints about that from this region.”
That is why the procession passed through the Kop van Drenthe especially this time. To the satisfaction of the residents, Looijenga noticed. “We always get a lot of positive reactions and that was no different now. A lot of people came.”
At a time when the news is often dominated by conflicts, Looijenga notices that a subject such as liberation also appeals to many people. “It is good that young and old are showing interest in this, the mayor of Noordenveld (Klaas Smid, ed.) also emphasized in his speech.”
Moreover, there are still plenty of stories to be told about the liberation, Looijenga emphasizes. “Many people do not know exactly how the liberation of their village or city came about,” he notes. “They often think of the Canadians or Poles, but in Northern Drenthe the liberation of villages often took place at night by Belgian commandos.”
Precisely these troops paved the way for the Canadians and Poles, who sometimes only appeared on the scene later. Although the parade logically attracts a lot of attention, an important part of the Liberty Tour is also telling these kinds of stories.
The question now is when the Liberty Tour will return. In principle, the event takes place once every five years, but the success leaves us wanting more, Looijenga acknowledges.
“We are now going to think about it first. The organization was an intensive period. We are pleasantly surprised that our arrival has caused such a stir, but it must also remain a bit exclusive. The fact that it takes place once every five years makes it special.”