Annual Commemoration

of the February strike of 1941 in Amsterdam.

On February 22, 1941, two major raids took place in Amsterdam. 425 Jewish men are herded together on the Jonas Daniël Meijerplein and transported by brutal force to the concentration camps. Tens of thousands of Amsterdam residents stopped work in protest over the next three days. Trams remained standing. Shops closed their doors. Municipal services, offices, shipyards, clothing workshops and metal companies were at a standstill. This protest strike spreaded to other cities and goes down in history as the February strike.

The Commemoration of that February Strike of 1941 during WW II was started in 1946 and is held at this spot what you see, since 1950 and in 1952 the statue of the "Dock Labourer" was added. 

Today Amsterdam's Mayor, Mrs Femke Halsema, warned us in her speech of 'a new rise of resentment'. She mentioned Putin by name: “Behind the propaganda about the war against Ukraine lies Putin's resentment. Behind his worldview, which is filled with hatred of Europe, human rights and the freedoms we have cherished here since the Second World War, lies deep resentment. And let's face it, behind the support for Putin outside Russia - including in our country - lies resentment.”

Her speech touched me and I'm glad she's here free to speak her warning words! Heard by the media and surely forecasted by the media.