Rituals of the past in the context of the present: The role of Remembrance Day and Liberation Day in Dutch society

Every society has its own commemorations and celebrations, the commemoration of the Second World War being perhaps the most widely recognised one due to its major impact worldwide. In her dissertation, Manja Coopmans gains more insight in the role of national commemorations in contemporary Western societies by empirically examining the determinants and consequences of Dutch citizens’ participation in the activities organised on May 4 and May 5, Dutch Liberation Day and Remembrance Day, in commemoration of the Second World War. In doing so, this dissertation contributes to the construction of a theoretical framework of mnemonic socialisation tailored for contemporary (Western) societies, paying specific attention to citizens further removed from the historical event that is commemorated, either in time (i.e. later generations) or in geographical distance (i.e. citizens with a migration background). Moreover, this dissertation answers questions on the consequences of commemorative participation by expanding existing theories on the broader function of commemorative rituals and empirically testing these theories at the level of the individual.
A large number of mnemonic socialisation forms is identified as being effective in increasing chances of people participating in the commemorative activities organised on Dutch Remembrance Day and Liberation Day. A first example is communication. Throughout this dissertation, three types of communication can be distinguished that positively influence commemorative participation: war-specific communication with family members, war-specific communication with non-family members, and civic communication (e.g. talking with one’s parents about political or social issues). Another relevant determinant of commemorative participation is parental exemplar behaviour, especially in situations in which familial communication is absent. The relevance of previous familiarity with commemorative behaviours is also visible amongst citizens with a migration background, for whom participation in country-of-origin-specific holidays is found to be one of the key explanations of participation in national commemorations in the current country of residence.
One of the main conclusions regarding the consequences of commemorative participation is that the potential of commemorative participation to positively impact citizens’ broader civic engagement depends upon the type of activity, the type of audience, and the type of outcome. An examination of Dutch Liberation festivals shows that young people’s festival attendance is positively associated with their voting intentions, even after considering several alternative explanations. Relationships between commemorative participation and feelings of national belonging, however, vary, depending upon both time and place of birth. Whilst earlier generations’ feelings of national belonging are associated most strongly with partaking in Remembrance Day activities, for later generations, the Liberation Day activities show a stronger connection with national feelings of belonging. Moreover, whilst originating from a non-Western country decreases chances of participating in the activities organised on Dutch Remembrance Day and Liberation Day, it seems to amplify the connection between commemorating and feelings of national belonging. These results highlight the importance of further research into the consequences of commemorative participation.