At the commemoration of the liberation in Bergen op Zoom, the war in Ukraine dominated on Sunday. The Russian representatives stayed away and that was not really a surprise. Instead of the Russians, there was a delegation from the Ukrainian embassy. After they laid a wreath, they even got applause.
At least two hundred people attended the annual commemoration on the Canadian War Cemetery, just outside the Scheldt city. They listened to speeches by, among others, Jelka Borghouts (18), graduating student at ‘t Rijks in Bergen op Zoom.
To cry
Jelka told about the first time she visited the immense cemetery and cried. “All those lives, why did they have to die? My father explained to me that there was a reason.”
Jelka reflected on the lives of her peers who, in her eyes, have it quite easy compared to other children then and now. “Freedom is a gift. We have to do our best for it,” she referred to the war in Ukraine.
heroes
Mayor Frank Petter van Bergen spoke about the courage of the nearly 1,100 soldiers who lie on the plot. “Heroism is more than just fighting against evil. It is also in the women of Ukraine. The people who look out for their loved ones by letting lights burn in the night.”
Canada Ambassador Lisa Helfland pointed to Corporal Alexander Bondoluk’s grave just a few yards away. Bondoluk had Ukrainian parents. He was killed in action on 19 November 1944 near Tilburg. On his stone it reads, translated: ‘sleep dear son. You gave your young life for freedom in the world and Ukraine.’
“The Canadians lying here fought for our future. We owe them a lot,” said Ambassador Helfland.
Ukrainians, no Russians
She also reflected on the similarities she sees between the Second World War and now. “Ukrainians are fighting the same tyranny as then”. She also said that that is why colleagues from the Ukrainian embassy were invited and attended for the first time today.
In 2019, the Russian ambassador was there for the first time in Bergen, with a military representative. They were now missing, as expected. Instead, a Ukrainian embassy officer and the military attaché in uniform were present. They, like others, laid a wreath. Flowers in the familiar yellow-blue colors of their country. As they walked back to their seats, they received applause from the audience.
Commemorations everywhere
The liberation was commemorated this weekend in many Brabant villages and cities. In this period in 1944 most of Brabant was liberated. This year it is 78 years ago that the occupation ended in Breda, Oosterhout, Den Bosch, Tilburg, Roosendaal, Bergen op Zoom and various surrounding villages. Next week the liberation will be commemorated in Welberg and surroundings and Heusden, among others.
Busiest commemoration ever on Canadian plot in Bergen op Zoom, for the first time with Russians