Liberation75 commemorative planting campaign
Yesterday students, veterans, teachers, and members of the community gathered together at Massey-vanier High School for a tulip planting ceremony in honour of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the
Netherlands with the help of Canadian soldiers during World War Two.
Students from Massey-vanier’s CASP Challenges class, a class for students with special needs, took the time to speak to those in attendance about the Liberation75 campaign and invited attendees to plant their own tulip bulbs in the gardens located just outside the entrance of the high school.
Many may wonder, how did all of this get started? And why tulips? Well, it all began when the Germans began their attack on the Netherlands and Canadian soldiers were given the task of liberating the country from German occupation. Citizens of the Netherlands
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were desperate and needed food and relief. “Since the roads were always blocked off the Canadians airdropped food to citizens of the Netherlands,” explained Gloria Robinson, a teacher of CASP, “and to thank them they wrote Thank you Canadians on their roof.”
During this period of time, the Dutch Royal family was also seeking protection from the war. “They first went to France but there was still too much danger there so they came to Canada where they moved to Ottawa,” she said. Shortly after, Princess Juliana and her husband Prince Bernhard gave birth to Princess Margriet in 1943. “That was the only time another flag was flown over Parliament. It was a privilege to show the friendship between Canada and the Netherlands,” Robinson said.
Canada provided refuge to the Dutch family throughout the war and the Canadian soldiers were successful in liberating the Netherlands from Nazi rule. To express their gratitude for all that Canadians have done for the good of their country and for their family, Dutch Princess Juliana presented Canada with 100,000 tulip bulbs in 1945.
Ever since that very moment, Canada has been presented with 20,000 tulip bulbs from the Netherlands every year and it has become a symbol of friendship between the two countries.
With this year marking the 75 years since the Netherlands was liberated, Princess Margriet gifted Canada with another 100,000 tulip bulbs to be planted by 1,100 schools across Canada. “Princess Margriet presented a box to one of our veterans that flew to the Netherlands and that’s how the whole campaign started.”
As part of the campaign, each school also received a box that contains lesson plans created by Canadian teachers to help explain the historical context of the liberation of the Netherlands. One of those lesson plans suggests a planting ceremony. “The goal of the campaign is to have 1.1 million tulips by spring because that’s the number of Canadian soldiers who went to Europe.”
Massey-vanier just so happened to be chosen as one of the high schools who get to take part in the campaign. “Miss. Edwards (principal) received the box on her desk and she was looking for someone to take on the project and here we are,” commented Ronbinson.
While other high-schools may be going about it differently, Robinson plans on making this a yearlong project for her class. Various speakers will be invited to join the class throughout the year to talk about the history of the Second World War and to provide different perspectives on it. There will also be certain individuals that will speak about their own experiences after enlisting in the Second World War. “We are trying to do something cross circular,” Robinson said.
If you would like more information on the Liberation75 Campaign, you can visit their website at https://liberation75.ca/a-royal-gift/.