A day after the major strike in Amsterdam, work was also stopped in the Zaan region. The action was severely suppressed by the Nazis; one man was shot dead. Today wreaths were laid at the monument on the Zaan to commemorate the strike.
“Communists called for action and went from company to company to bring out workers,” Wim Nieuwenhuijse says. His father worked as a machinist at Bruynzeel and also left work. It was an exciting time for Wim, because his father was also in the resistance.
How people stood up against evil
According to Herman van Kordenoordt of the 4 and 5 May committee Zaanstad, the importance of commemoration is only increasing. “The people who have experienced it are becoming rarer. But when you hear the speakers, there is always a link to the present. Look at how people once stood up to evil – that brings us directly to today’s reality.”
Veteran John de Koning of the Zaanstad Veterans Foundation also sees this current situation. “We have actually learned little from the past,” he says. “It’s a big mess everywhere.”
The foundation was established in 2024. According to the king, about 470 veterans live in Zaanstad, “Some of them well into their nineties. The oldest is 104 years old,” he says. For those who could not be present today, the foundation brought a salute at the monument on the Zaan.
