May 4 is the Nationale Dodenherdenking (Remembrance of the Dead / Remembering the dead) in Netherlands. Today the living give their time to think of all those who have fallen to the Germans during World War II. Tonight at 8pm, there will be a 2 minutes silence that will be offered to the victims. Both public and private transports will stop on their tracks, people inside their homes will be silent, some will offer prayers.

I guess the most celebrated victim of them all was Anne Frank (1924-1945.) The Jewish teenager who wrote her journal while hiding with her family in an attic in Amsterdam. Anne lost her German nationality in 1941 due to the anti-Semitic policies of Nazi Germany. She and her family fled to Netherlands and there stayed until found in the attic by German soldiers.

I have been in the Anne Frank Huis (museum) in Amsterdam way back in 2004. It was the same house where Anne’s family went to hiding. No cameras were allowed inside but I managed to take this shot, of the bookcase (replica)  that covered the entrance to the secret annexe.

In Netherlands alone, 8,729,000 fell victim to the war, about 104,000 of them were Jews. In the whole of Europe estimated death is from 6million -7 million.

As you can see I didn’t used on my title the word ‘National’ because my post isn’t just about the victims in Holland. I am remembering the others who in my opinion are also victims. They are the german soldiers who followed Hitler’s order until the end. Those german soldiers who believed  Hitler will bring Germany to its greatness, to a full glory.  I am remembering especially the young german soldiers, some were still boys who I’m sure would have had a better chance in life had the many attempts on Hitler’s life succeeded before 1945.

The following photos were taken in Balogna Belgium. We rode in the area and on the way spotted this rather lonely cemetary. Coming closer, there I found out that it wasn’t a cemetery for heroes but rather for fallen german soldiers, both known names and the unknown were buried here.

the first cross in front bears 3 soldiers: ‘ein Deutscher soldat’ followed by 2 names which means some of them were unidentified and perhaps their families to this day are still bearing their loss too.

just in front of the cemetery was this board.

Nobody wins in war. Nobody.

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