Speech by Mayor Van Bree during the Remembrance Day ceremony

The last eyewitnesses to World War II are passing away. Their voices are fading, but their stories remain. It is up to us to keep those stories alive and to pass on the lessons they hold. Whether we are close to them or far away, regardless of what they did right or wrong during those years. It is important to try to understand what happened more than 80 years ago. Not only to understand how it could have come to that, but also to consider whether it could happen again.

Because what happened back then started small. With words. With thinking in terms of “us” and “them.” Discrimination, exclusion, and hatred don’t usually begin with violence. They creep in through a lack of understanding of other people. That’s why we must look not only at the stories of heroes or perpetrators, but also at the behavior, ideas, and actions that led to them.

Most Dutch people were somewhere in between. They remained silent, waited to see what would happen, and hoped things wouldn’t get that bad. Perhaps that is the most uncomfortable lesson of all. I see that same naive attitude today. Many live in luxury and act, at least on the surface, as if nothing is wrong. 

In times of uncertainty, people look for something to hold on to. Sometimes they blame a particular group—often one that is different. They are blamed for problems that are actually much more complex, problems for which there are no longer any simple solutions. 

If these ideas are repeated often and no one speaks up, they can become dangerous. We have seen this throughout history. Even today, we see around the world that this can have serious consequences.

In our democratic constitutional state, we have built something important to prevent this from happening. We have rules and institutions that check and limit power. We have judges who protect our rights. We have a free press that asks questions and highlights problems. And we have fundamental rights that state that everyone is equal, no matter who you are or where you come from.

But these rights cannot be taken for granted. Events around the world show that division, power, and the mindset of viewing others as enemies can still have far-reaching consequences. Even in countries that have long been stable democracies, we are seeing worrying changes. International law holds as long as everyone abides by it—until someone stops doing so.

Power sometimes becomes more concentrated in the hands of a single leader. Parliament and the judiciary have less influence. Checks and balances on power weaken. There is also more division and mistrust. The media, education, and other critical organizations are more frequently criticized or attacked.

Democracy, then, is not something that lasts forever. It is fragile and can weaken if we are not careful.