Remembrance Day in Rotterdam
November 11, 2012
Here, many soldiers' lives were lost too but ordinary civilians lost their lives, their homes, everything they owned, their workplaces, their cities; cities that weren't bombed into oblivion turned their flower gardens into potato patches for their citizens; the civilians in cities that were bombed were terrorized for years and then spent years cleaning up the rubble; people starved and ate flower bulbs; clothes wore out...
I had the privilege of being in Rotterdam, Holland to take part in a Peace Service on Remembrance Day. In May 1940, a German Blitz razed the centre of this city to the ground - nothing remained except the shell of one church. Today it is a thriving hub of daring new architecture and economic growth. They have rebuilt the heart of their city. As I looked at the bustling port and the cranes still constructing new buildings, I was struck by the thought that the heart of this new city was younger than me.
Erasmus Bridge
The citizens worked together to rebuild their city
But the monument that silenced me
and retold the city's story of pain so vividly was
the cry of anguish
on the face of this distorted bronze statue of
De Verwoeste Stad (The Devastated City)
whose heart had been ripped out
Lest we forget .........................
