The end of the Flood was merely the beginning of the memories. Immediately after the Flood, it was not spoken about. The fear, the pain, and the sorrow were still too great. Years later, the memories resurfaced. Today, the story is kept alive with numerous commemorative markers and monuments.
The commemoration of the Flood began a week after the disaster, on 8 February 1953. A national day of mourning was declared, and Queen Juliana gave a speech on the radio. She expressed how horrific she found the Flood and how much respect she had for the many people who tried to help others:
"Fellow countrymen, who have been affected by the disaster, and you, the rescuers and helpers in the broadest sense, we all stand in awe before the great suffering that struck our entire nation when part of it was overwhelmed by storm and flood a week ago: before the courage shown by so many in their time of need, and before the horror endured by those who left us, and by those who remained with us, bearing the heavy burden they now carry."
In her speech, Juliana also praised the help that came from both within and outside the country after the Flood. Since the Second World War, she had not witnessed such a sense of solidarity.
"The breach of the dikes, on the other hand, triggered a tidal wave of compassion towards one another. The unity from wartime suddenly resurfaced. This lifted our nation above all divisions and every compromise within society."
After the day of national mourning, silence fell around the Flood. The survivors did not talk about it. They preferred to forget, to move on with their lives. They rebuilt their land and homes, working hard to avoid confronting the loss. “I had wanted to talk about it when I was younger. But it was cut short; it simply wasn’t discussed. You had to move on,” recalls survivor Dick Sies. There was only one place where people could seek psychological help.
People had new children and made a fresh start. “They were thrilled,” says Ella Bom-Scholten about her parents. “I was a new child again, I was a new life, a new beginning.” Yet, these 'comfort children' could not truly fill the emptiness. “But as a child, I still sensed that something wasn’t right. It was a little sad around me. My mother couldn’t quite organise her day. I was left to my sister, who was twelve years older. She took care of me.”
As the survivors grew older, they slowly began to open up about their memories. Books about the Flood were published, and children asked their parents or grandparents what had happened. It wasn't until 40 years after the Flood that the first national commemoration took place, on 1 February 1993. This also marked the beginning of the idea for the Watersnoodmuseum as a place of remembrance. It was built in the caissons (large concrete structures) that had sealed the last breach in the dike at Ouwerkerk during the Flood.
It is a symbolic location, which was designated as the National Monument Flood Disaster 1953 in 2003. Artist Gust Romijn designed a monument for the victims: a tall stone column with crumbling stones at the top. Metal waves pass through the column, symbolising the devastating power of the water. The monument bears the inscription: 'the water, the storm, the silence.'
In 2012, the Watersnoodmuseum began a major project to preserve the memories of the disaster. More than 800 interviews with survivors and rescuers were recorded and preserved. A part of these interviews is now on display in the museum. The museum has also collected objects from victims, which were kept by survivors of the Flood.
A few years after the Flood, the first monuments or lists of names appeared in the villages affected by the disaster in Zeeland, South Holland, North Brabant, and North Holland. Sometimes commemorations were organised, usually small and local. After the first national commemoration in 1993, more monuments were erected, and additional commemorations were held. In 2010, Marijke van Hamelsveld, Piet van der Have, and Simon van der Haagen gathered all approximately 70 monuments together in the book 'De monumenten van de watersnood 1953'.
Most monuments commemorate the victims, but some depict heroic stories from the Flood. In Colijnsplaat, for example, there is the sculpture ‘Houen jongens’ by artist Jan Haas: a rolling wave crashes against a flood plank that is being held back by a hand. The monument was unveiled on 6 August 1993 and represents the story of the residents of Colijnsplaat in their battle to keep the water out of their village.
Next to the former town hall was a breach in the dike, and the inhabitants tried to seal it with flood planks. But the water kept rising. The buttress that was meant to hold the planks in place began to crack and sway. The villagers threw their bodies against the planks and braced themselves with each wave. After hours of pushing, with the water only 10 centimeters below the highest flood plank, the sea suddenly threw a ship from the harbour right in front of the dike breach. That sealed the gap, and Colijnsplaat was saved.
Another way to commemorate the Flood is through the project ‘Stroomgaten Markering 1953’ (Marking the Breaches of 1953). During the 1953 Flood, the water caused 377 breaches in the dikes. Through 96 of these breaches, the water flowed in and out for extended periods of time. It took weeks, and sometimes even months, to seal these deep gaps. And before farming could resume in these areas, it took much longer. The salty seawater had rendered the soil infertile for years.
Today, there is no visible trace of these breaches. The dikes have been repaired, and the surrounding landscape has changed. To make visible where the sea had entered the land, Koos Hage launched a special commemorative project in 2013. Koos experienced the Flood when he was almost 6 years old. He lost his mother and older sister to the water when their farm in Stavenisse was flooded.
At the locations where the breaches once were, Koos placed basalt pillars along the new dikes. From these points, one can look out over both the land and the water. These pillars not only mark the location of the breach, but also depict the date when it was repaired . Together, they form a outdoor museum.
In Zierikzee, Stavenisse, Willemstad, and Halsteren, larger stones can also be found. These regional stones mark the locations of the breach pillars and indicate how many people became victims of the Flood in those areas.
Koos also wrote a book about the breaches and the devastation caused by the sea. In ‘Atlas van de watersnood 1953. Waar de dijken braken’ (Atlas of the 1953 Flood. Where the Dikes Broke), he collected interviews with eyewitnesses and aerial photographs of the disaster area, taken one week after the Flood. The photos pull the reader deep into the flooded regions of 1953.
Even today, the Flood Disaster of 1953 remains a poignant event. Commemorating it helps us process the pain of the past, but also allows us to tell new stories about the present and the future. What does the Flood tell us about how we live with water? How can we prevent such floods in the future? The Watersnoodmuseum regularly collaborates with artists who tell these stories.
In the commemorative year 2023, 70 years after the Flood, the Synchronicity Productions foundation created six enormous sand drawings as a form of remembrance. The drawings not only reflected on the Flood, but also looked ahead: are we safe from the water in the future? What will be the impact of rising sea levels? By now, the sea has long since washed away these drawings. But does that mean the message has disappeared as well?
In 2024, the Watersnoodmuseum participated in Museum Murals. Artist Stefan Thelen, also known by the name Super-A, created the graffiti artwork ‘Drijfkracht’ on the side wall of a 32-meter-high apartment building in Goes. Stefan’s great-aunt experienced the Flood firsthand, and his mother was born during the Flood disaster. He painted his great-aunt alongside his daughter Liv. Past and future stand side by side as they gaze out over a stormy sea.
"Artists, like scientists, use their imagination to create innovative solutions and to provoke thought."
The Flood continues to be a source of inspiration for playwrights, film directors, writers, and other artists. The Watersnoodmuseum frequently collaborates with them, providing a platform for their stories. Artists often work with the museum for months at a time to tell the story of the Flood and the power of water.
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