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Around 15,000 people gathered on Amsterdam’s Dam Square on Monday evening for the Netherlands’ national Remembrance Day ceremony, after municipal workers rushed to clean red paint and the word “genocide” from the National Monument earlier in the day.
The monument, one of the country’s most important World War II memorials, was defaced in the early hours of May 4, just hours before it was due to host the annual ceremony known in Dutch as “Dodenherdenking.”
By the evening, the damage was no longer visible. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima laid a wreath at the monument before the Netherlands observed two minutes of silence at 8:00 p.m. for victims of World War II, later conflicts, and peacekeeping missions.
The ceremony proceeded without major disruption, despite arrests linked to banned demonstrations near the site. Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema later described the evening as a “dignified and beautiful commemoration.”
The National Monument was defaced in the early hours of Monday morning, long before the ceremony started.
Photos shared with Amsterdam broadcaster AT5 showed red paint smeared across multiple parts of the monument.
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema condemned the act as “an incredibly cowardly deed” and said municipal workers were working “with all their might” to clean the monument in time.
“This is not a protest, but vandalism and deliberate damage to our national monument,” Halsema wrote on social media. She said the defacement hurt not only the relatives of World War II victims, but “all Dutch people for whom our national commemoration is important.”
Prime Minister Rob Jetten also condemned the act, calling it “idiotic and completely unacceptable” on X.
“Especially today, on May 4,” Jetten said, “let us be united today and pause together with respect.”
The Central Jewish Consultation, known as CJO, also condemned the defacement. Its chairman, Chanan Hertzberger, said the situation was going “from bad to worse” and asked whether monuments also needed to be guarded. He called for stricter legislation with a stronger deterrent effect.
Police arrested 13 people during the Remembrance Day ceremony, including nine demonstrators, three people accused of disturbing public order, and one woman who shouted during the two minutes of silence, as reported by Het Parool.
An emergency ordinance was in force around the ceremony, which meant demonstrations were not allowed near Dam Square. However, several demonstrators appeared on the square despite the ban. Some shouted “free Palestine” or “stop genocide” before being detained.
A spokesperson for the National Committee for May 4 and 5 said the organization looked back positively on the ceremony, which proceeded in a dignified way and without major incidents. Around 15,000 people attended this year, compared with about 16,000 last year.
Palestine Action Amsterdam claimed responsibility for the defacement in an email to the Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), the largest public news organization in the Netherlands, saying the action was intended to expose the “hypocrisy” of Remembrance Day, as reported by Het Parool.
The group said Holocaust and World War II victims were being commemorated while silence over the ongoing genocide was “deafening.”
The National Monument has been targeted before.
In August last year, during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Amsterdam, the monument was defaced with red paint and the words “never again.” Another version of the phrase reported in Dutch media was “Never again is now.”
Around two months later, the Royal Palace on Dam Square was also smeared with red paint and the words “f*** Israel.”
Palestine Action claimed responsibility for that action at the time, saying the red paint was meant to represent “the blood” it said the Dutch state had on its hands over Israel’s actions in Gaza.
There have also been continuing efforts by some campaigners to broaden the scope of May 4 commemorations to remember all victims of war.
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