Remembrance Day in Lommel: 300 people commemorate the victims of war and violence

On Remembrance Day on November 16, nearly 300 people gathered at the German military cemetery in Lommel to commemorate the victims of war and violence around the world. Sixteen students from the iDSB, the two music classes 11 and 12, contributed to the program with their interpretations of the two songs “Blowing in the Wind” and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone.” In addition to commemorative speeches by the French and German ambassadors, Mr. Lapeyre de Cabanes and Mr. Kotthaus, the Belgian Navy Band and the ecumenical trombone choir of the German communities in Brussels provided musical accompaniment for the event.

Lommel, located in the Belgian province of Limburg, is home to the largest German military cemetery in Western Europe, covering 16 hectares and containing the graves of almost 40,000 soldiers who fell in both world wars. Remembrance Day has been held in November since the 1950s – a ritual that one never gets used to. The number of wreaths laid by military escorts and representatives from various countries – twelve in addition to Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands – impressed not only the students in attendance.

Excerpts from our contribution can be heard in a radio report by Deutschlandfunk on November 17:

Gedenken in Zeiten des Krieges: Volkstrauertag in Lommel