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Faces to Graves

NEWSLETTERS

Click here to read our latest newsletter (2024 no 18)

Faces to Graves

BOOK: FACES OF LIBERATION

To mark the 80th anniversary of the Liberation commemoration, we are working on a publication about the soldiers buried at the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek or listed on the Memorial.

In this book, we have collected about 100 life stories of fallen soldiers, chosen to represent a diverse range of ages, regiments, beliefs, ethnic backgrounds and the dates of their sacrifices. Each story is accompanied by a portrait and, in some cases, by additional photographs that offer a richer picture of their lives. Where possible, we have selected stories of fallen soldiers whose descendants have contacted the Faces to Graves Foundation, offering a deeper insight into the significance of this commemoration.

The introductory chapters describe the historical and cultural significance of the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek. Frank Mehring and Jaap Verheul of Radboud University discuss the importance of the cemetery as a transnational heritage site. They emphasise its place in the collective memory of the war, both in the border region of the Netherlands and Germany and in transatlantic relations. Canadian war historians John Goheen and Mark Zuehlke describe the crucial involvement of the Canadian Forces in the liberation of the Netherlands and the Rhineland Offensive, and the experiences for participating soldiers. Rense Havinga, curator at the Freedom Museum, offers a history of the cemetery itself, inaugurated by Queen Wilhelmina on 4 May 1947 and managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. He also discusses how the graves of liberators were adopted by local people. The book also highlights the invaluable work of the volunteers of the Faces to Graves Foundation, who compiled the life stories of the fallen soldiers and maintained links with their families in Canada. Mathilde Roza of Radboud University shares stories of soldiers coming from the indigenous peoples of Canada, adding another layer to the historical role of the cemetery. Finally, two chapters describe the place of the Canadian liberation in the Netherlands and Canada. Frank Mehring and Jaap Verheul narrate the living memory of Canadian soldiers in the Netherlands and composer and professor Dean Burry of Queen’s University, Canada, explores how the liberation of the Netherlands is commemorated in Canada’s society and popular culture. Together, these introductory chapters provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the soldiers' stories within the broader context of their historical and cultural significance.

Faces of Liberation: The Canadian War Cemetery Groesbeek
Edited by Frank Mehring en Jaap Verheul
Authors: Alice van Bekkum, Dean Burry, John Goheen, Rense Havinga, Frank Mehring, Saskia Peters, Mathilde Roza, Jaap Verheul, Mark Zuehlke At the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek rest 2,618 servicemen from Canada and the British Commonwealth. Most of these men fell during the liberation of the Netherlands and the decisive Rhineland Offensive at the end of the Second World War. This book brings their individual stories to life and offers a poignant tribute to the young men who fought for freedom, democracy, and peace. With the names of all the fallen and the 1,012 missing on the Memorial Wall, this is a valuable unique reference work that perpetually honors their sacrifices. The book tells the history of the cemetery through a transatlantic lens, with special focus on the commemorative practices of Dutch volunteers and local heritage institutions to keep the collective memory alive. Through rich illustrations, this book shows how the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek has become a living tribute to the bonds between the Netherlands and Canada.

Order the book at Amsterdam University Press

Published by Amsterdam University Press
Release date: April 2025
Retail price € 49.99
Pre-subscription price € 39,99

Hardback 24 x 30 cm
Approx 320 pages full colour
ISBN 9789048565849
Design Frederik de Wal
The book will also be published in Dutch, Gezichten van Bevrijding, De Canadese Oorlogsbegraafplaats Groesbeek

The presentation of the book will take place on May 2, 2025 at 1:00 PM in the Freedom Museum in Groesbeek.

Faces to Graves
Listen to radio items about Faces To Graves.

Interview Faces To Graves: 24 March 2019 Radio Berg en Dal, program ‘Then and Now’ Note: In Dutch

Interview Faces to Graves November 11 2021, CBC Canada
Faces to Graves

Click here to watch the videos on our -channel.

  • Group of volunteers in the Netherlands and Canada working to tell the stories of the soldiers who died freeing that country at the end of WWII
  • Blauw Bloed - visit of Princess Margriet to Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery (Dutch spoken)
  • Wish of a Lifetime 15 Sep 2017
  • Nijmegen Marches interview cemetery about Robert Allen Weese 19 Jul 2018
  • Nijmegen Marches interview cemetery about Anthony Barbaro 18 Jul 2019
  • 17 September TV Gelderland live broadcast '75 years of freedom' interview with USA Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, Qader Shafiq, writer and Alice van Bekkum, Faces to Graves Foundation
  • 20 September RN7 part of live broadcast '75 years Market Garden - The Crossing' interview with Alice van Bekkum about the work of Faces to Graves
  • CBC: 75th anniversary of Holland's liberation marked with online tributes - 5 May 2020 CBC The National
Faces to Graves
Legion Magazine november 2018
Award Alice van Bekkum

NEWSPAPERS

To open the newspaper articles, click on the thumbnails.
De Gelderlander (February 2022)

De Krant (February 2022)

Legion Magazine (Nov 2021)

De Gelderlander 01-10-2021

De Gelderlander 04-05-2021 (pag 3)

De Gelderlander 04-05-2021 (regio)

De Gelderlander 04-05-2020

De Gelderlander 01-05-2020

De Gelderlander 29-04-2020

De Gelderlander 22-05-2019

De Gelderlander 30-03-2019

Legion Magazine november 2018

De Brug 26-09-2018

BN-De Stem 24-05-2018

De Gelderlander 22-11-2017

De Rozet 14-11-2017

Ottawa Citizen 11-11-2017

NRZ Kleve 19-09-2017

NRZ Emmerich 19-09-2017

De Gelderlander 16-09-2017

Algemeen Dagblad 16-09-2017

De Gelderlander 15-11-2016

De Telegraaf 16-09-2017

De Gelderlander 03-01-2017

The Telegraphjournal 05-11-2016

The Daily Gleaner 01-06-2015

De Rozet 12-05-2015

Gazet Bergen op Zoom 28-10-2015

De Gelderlander 18-09-2017

Groesbeeks Weekblad 05-05-2015

The Daily Gleaner 15-01-2015

De Gelderlander 08-05-2015