Remembrance of the Dead Remembrance of the Dead ( ) is held annually on May 4 in the Netherlands . It commemorates all civilians and members of the armed forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands who have died in wars or peacekeeping missions since the outbreak of World War II . Until 1961 , the commemoration only related to the Dutch victims of World War II . Since 1961 , the victims of other military conflicts ( such as the Indonesian National Revolution in Indonesia ) and peacekeeping missions ( such as in Lebanon or Bosnia ) are remembered on May 4 as well . Traditionally , the main ceremonies are observed in Amsterdam at the National Monument on Dam Square . This ceremony is usually attended by members of the cabinet and the royal family , military leaders , representatives of the resistance movement and other social groups . At 8 : 00 p . m . , two minutes of silence are observed throughout the Netherlands . Public transport is stopped , as well as all other traffic . Radio and TV only broadcast the ceremonies from 19 . 00 until 20 . 30 . Since May 4 , 1994 , the flags , having hung at half - staff from 18 : 00 onwards , are then hoisted to the music of the " Wilhelmus " , the Dutch national anthem . Since 2001 the new protocol says it is correct to let the flag hang half - staff . The main commemorations in Amsterdam are broadcast by the public broadcasting company NOS , but there are ceremonies in other cities and places as well . Especially notable are those at the Waalsdorpervlakte near The Hague , where many Dutch resistance fighters were executed during the war , and at the war cemetery Grebbeberg , which are broadcast by the commercial broadcasting companies . In many towns , before or after the two minutes of silence , people gather around a monument , listen to speeches , and lay down flowers to remember the dead . The next day , on May 5 , Dutch people celebrate the liberation of the nation from the German occupation of 1940 to 1945 . 2010 incident . The 2010 ceremony on Dam Square was disrupted towards the end of the one - minute silence by a 39 - year - old man with a history of violent crimes and drug trading . Standing on the Rokin side of the square dressed as an Orthodox Jew , he refused to end a loud conversation on a cell phone during the two - minute silence , then pushed his way through the crowd while muttering unintelligibly and issued an extended loud scream that was heard all over the square . A person nearby dropped a suitcase in the resulting panic which prompted a cry of " Bomb , bomb , run ! " which caused a panicked stampede among the 20 , 000 people crowd . Many people were trampled and some ended up trapped underneath crowd control barrier s that were pushed over in the chaos . The sounds of the barriers falling were mistaken for gunshots by many people and added to the chaos . A total of 63 people were treated for injuries , mostly minor ones and some broken bones . The panic reaction was explained by many as resulting from the tension after the attack on the Dutch royal family that killed eight people just over a year before the incident . Queen Beatrix , who had been rushed to safety with the rest of the royal family , returned once the situation was under control and the ceremony was continued . The owner of the dropped suitcase was arrested but released because his suitcase contained only personal belongings . The 39 - year - old man was also arrested and charged with disrupting public order and indirectly causing bodily harm . He later confessed to the police that he had been drinking and had screamed because of " frustrations in his personal life . " He professed to be sorry and claimed there was no deeper meaning or thought behind his action .