On Saturday, King of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander and Prime Minister Mark Rutte participated in the annual ceremony to commemorate World War II, which was held amid restrictions on public entry and tightened security measures.
About 4,000 people also attended the ceremony.
The ceremony, which was held in Dam Square in downtown Amsterdam, went smoothly and included, as usual, a two-minute silence at eight o’clock local time (1800 GMT) in memory of those killed in World War II.
Usually about 20,000 attend this gathering without the need to register. But a few days ago, the municipality announced unprecedented security measures aimed at keeping the celebration peaceful and avoiding disturbances.
Dutch towns and cities hold war commemoration ceremonies on May 4th every year, and hundreds of thousands participate in these events. The next day, the Netherlands celebrates the anniversary of its liberation from Nazi occupation in 1945.
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