...The Statue of Prometheus...
...at the Olympic Stadium...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
(Story by Marco Stoovelaar)
 Fallen athletes World War II remembered on Memorial Day
Nederlands
 AMSTERDAM (Neth.) -
For the eleventh time, athletes who fell victim during World War II due to their background, race, religion or other reasons, were remembered today, Monday, May 4, which is National Memorial Day in the Netherlands.
In front of the historic Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam, there were three speeches, then five wreaths in the Olympic colors were placed near the statue of Prometheus, the symbol of freedom, knowledge and independency.
The Memorial attracts more and more visitors every year.
The theme for this years Memorial was 'cycling in World War II'.
In the morning, there was a talk show regarding cycling in World II.
96-year old former cyclist Jan Pronk, who won a world championship-title in 1951, was an honorary guest and talked about this difficult period.
Also telling stories and answering questions were former cyclists Piet van Heusden and Rini Wagtmans, as well as Simon Meijn on behalf of the Dutch Cycling Federation.
At 12:30 PM, the official memorial was held near the statue of Prometheus, which included speeches by André Bolhuis (Chairman of the Netherlands Olympic Committee), Eric van der Burg (Alderman of Sports for the Municipality of Amsterdam) and Paul Slettenhaar (Chairman of city-borough Amsterdam-Zuid).
After two minutes of silence and the playing of the Dutch National Anthem, the ceremony ended.
(May 4)
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