Faces of Freedom
29, 30 and 31 May 2020
The soldiers that have been buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten deserve to be heard. Through newly found documents and testimonies from family members and adopters, the stories of four people buried in Margraten have been reconstructed. Who were these men and women and how did they end up in Margraten? And what choices would you have made if you had walked a day in their shoes? Discover that behind every cross, every star of David, there is a person who is more similar to you than you would have imagined.
The audiotours were part of The Faces of Margraten in 2018 and were produced by Stichting Laudio and the Fields of Honor Foundation
Saturday 29
10.000 names
On Saturday 29 May, we paused to remember the American men and women who died during or just after the Second World War. 10,000 names were read aloud by Americans and Dutch citizens at the site where the liberation of Maastricht, the first city in the Netherlands, began in September 1944. You can watch this special recording via this link.
Sunday 30
Sunday Freedom Talks
On Sunday 30 May, dialogues explored how we are committed to freedom today. The theme of the largely digital programme was based on the Four Freedoms of the then American President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In a speech in 1941, Roosevelt said that democracy in the post-war world could only flourish if people everywhere had the right to freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and were free from want and fear. After all, living in peace does not necessarily mean living in freedom. The tribute embraces these different freedoms to show that not only soldiers, but also civilians can make a contribution. The authors also highlighted several remarkable stories from the book De Gezichten van Margraten: Zij bleven voor altijd jong (The Faces of Margraten: They Remained Forever Young), published in 2020. Watch all the Freedom Talks below, either all at once or per session.
Stories from Margraten
Behind every stone or Star of David, behind every name, there is a story. To mark 75 years of liberation, the tribute, together with WalburgPers, published the book De Gezichten van Margraten: Zij bleven voor altijd jong (The Faces of Margraten: They Remained Forever Young). Arie-Jan van Hees, Jori Videc and Sebastiaan Vonk highlight some remarkable stories and talk about the research that brought them to light.
Sander de Kramer (1973)
is a journalist, writer and presenter who received the Four Freedoms Award 2020 for his work for his Sunday Foundation in Sierra Leone, which establishes schools where hundreds of thousands of children receive an education and are no longer forced to work in the diamond mines. It is one of the many “projects of hope” to which he is committed. In the Netherlands, for example, this former editor of the Daklozenkrant (Homeless Newspaper) has set up various projects to help homeless people build a better future. In his freedom talk, he talks about his experiences and his ideals.
Gijs Tuinman (1979)
is a lieutenant colonel in the Dutch army, decorated with the Military Order of William and the Bronze Lion. In his freedom talk, Gijs examines the concepts of war, peace and freedom on the basis of military science, the experiences of veterans and his own experiences during missions in Afghanistan and Mauritania. What do we actually mean by these terms? And who do we mean by “we”? Does the concept of peace and freedom only have winners, or are there also losers? What are the similarities and differences in interpretations, and what does that mean for our actions in conflicts in the past, present and future? Is peace and freedom in the world a utopia or an achievable goal to strive for?
Prof. Dr. Azza Karam (1968)
is the Secretary General of Religions for Peace. The organization received a Four Freedoms Award 2020 as it is devoted to build bridges between religious communities in order to increase mutual trust and reduce hostility in areas of conflict and to offer a platform for common action. The alliance respects and honors religious differences and works to advance interreligious dialogue and consensus. Karam, who has also worked for the United Nations and now also is a Professor of Religion and Development at the Vrije Universiteit, will speak about her work for Religions for Peace and the importance of freedom of religion.
Tanner Crunelle (1997)
is an LGBTQ+ scholar-activist who recently graduated magna cum laude from the Honors College at the College of Charleston with a dual B.A. in Women’s & Gender Studies and English. As a student, he led several campaigns to represent the concerns of minoritized students at the College of Charleston. His leadership has been formally recognized by, amongst others, receiving the Alison Piepmeier award, and through a scholarship for LGBTQ+ student leadership that has been named after him, the first ever LGBTQ+ student recognition at the College of Charleston. He will discuss how student activists are active participants in the creation of their own freedom of speech, and can face institutional abjection in the face of free speaking. Moreover, he will argue that freedom of speech is related to another category of freedom: freedom to listen.
Monday 30
The Faces of Margraten
The Faces of Margraten tribute has always had one simple goal: to put a face to the names. For the 2021 Memorial Day, the tribute did so once again, just only in a slightly different way. Watch now the recording of the Saturday’s name-reading ceremony, which is accompanied by the faces whose names are being spoken. These are the faces of almost 8,200, often young, soldiers. The recording has been split into two different parts of about four hours each. You can watch them on YouTube.
8,151
Faces
Faces of Freedom
Due to corona measures it was not possible to organize The Faces of Margraten in 2021. Therefore, Faces of Freedom was organized from May 29th until May 31st, Memorial weekend. On Saturday May 29th American and Dutch volunteers came together at the American War Cemetery in Margraten to read out the names of the 10.000 men and women who are buried there. On Sunday May 30th the Freedom Talks were organized, during which lieutenant-colonel Gijs Tuinman, journalist and writer Sander de Kramer, Prof. Dr. Azza Karam and activist Tanner Crunelle talked about what they do to ensure peace. Furthermore, impactful stories from the book The Faces of Margraten were highlighted by authors Sebastiaan Vonk, Arie-Jan van Hees and Jori Videc. On Monday May 31st a livestream of the reading of the names on the cemetery was aired.