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Daily Record
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Netflix 'spectacular' war film is 'must-watch' with perfect rating
The Forgotten Battle is a 2020 Dutch war drama film that has been leaving viewers 'gripped' as they watch the depiction of The Battle of the Scheldt, which took place in World War II This war film has captivated audiences with its intense portrayal of a relatively obscure battle from World War II, leaving them utterly "gripped". 'The Forgotten Battle', a Dutch war drama, boasts a flawless 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Released in 2020, the film transports viewers to 1944, chronicling the Battle of the Scheldt, which unfolded along the crucial waterway connecting Antwerp to the North Sea. The strategic importance of the Scheldt River during the war was paramount as it served as a vital shipping route to the port of Antwerp, essential for supplying Allied forces in northwestern Europe. The First Canadian Army, supported by British and Polish forces, engaged in a gruelling five-week campaign to reclaim control of the region, enabling the use of major ports for the final push against Germany. Despite the heavy toll, with 20,873 soldiers lost, their tenacious efforts ultimately triumphed, securing the area and reopening Antwerp. This victory allowed millions of tonnes of supplies to flow through, proving pivotal in the Allied struggle against Germany. A review on Rotten Tomatoes says: "Before watching this film, I had no prior knowledge of it and no particular expectation. However, I found it engrossing and extremely realistic.", reports the Express. "It made me reflect on what being a soldier could be like, and I thought of my grandad, who fought in the First World War. Ultimately, I found it very moving." One viewer praised the film, saying: "The Forgotten Battle excels in its visual and technical aspects, with impressive cinematography and a fitting musical score that enhances the overall viewing experience. Despite its modest budget, the film delivers high-quality action sequences and a realistic depiction of wartime struggles, making it a standout in the genre." The narrative of 'The Forgotten Battle' centres upon the intertwined fates of a Dutch Axis soldier, a British aviator and a resistance woman from the province Zeeland during the tumultuous last years of World War II. The audience witnesses how the characters' life-altering choices not only impact their destinies but also the fight for freedom, interweaving personal tales into the fabric of the larger conflict. The leading roles feature promising talents Gijs Blom, Jamie Flatters and Susan Radder, while Tom Felton, famed for his role in 'Harry Potter', makes an unexpected appearance. Notably, Flatters, who portrays the pilot in the film, has gained recognition for his performances in 'Avatar: The Way of Water' as well as 'The School for Good and Evil'. Another viewer was moved by the film, sharing: "Overall, it's a gripping and educational film that offers a poignant look at a lesser-known but crucial part of World War II history. It is a must-watch for fans of war movies and those interested in historical events." Boasting a budget of nearly €14 million, The Forgotten Battle stands as the second priciest Dutch film to ever be produced; however, when stacked against its American war movie contemporaries, it is categorised as modestly funded. Following its release, it soared up the ranks to become one of Netflix's most-viewed non-English language films of all time. A review lauds the film, praising it as "unflinching, brutal, terrifying, sad, and gut-wrenching, The Forgotten Battle is at times absolutely stunning," while another commentator affirms: "Terrific and gripping Second World War story with excellent acting, realistic scenes and intelligent dialogue." For those eager to delve into the particulars of the Battle of the Scheldt or who are simply in hunt for an enthralling war drama, The Forgotten Battle is currently available for streaming on Netflix.
Hamilton Spectator
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Bound by history, family and friendship, the Netherlands and Canada keep living their special tale of two countries
As Allied military equipment rumbled past cheering crowds, Canada seared itself into the collective soul of the Netherlands 80 years ago. The First Canadian Army cleared much of the country of its Nazi occupiers over an eight-month period near the end of the Second World War. On May 5, 1944, German forces formally surrendered in the Netherlands, securing a cross-Atlantic friendship bound to this day by blood and history. Liberation Day's anniversary did not go unacknowledged in the spring sitting of the Alberta legislature. And for one assembly member, the connection lives on in a profound and personal way. The valour of Canadian soldiers 'gave my family life and gave me a future,' said Chantelle de Jonge, the UCP member for Chestermere-Strathmore. 'From the depths of my family's story and my own heart, I am forever grateful.' Her grandparents grew up under occupation. Members of her family risked their own lives to hide people who the Nazis would otherwise kill. Sometimes family members were forced to provide shelter to occupying soldiers. One grandparent had to hide for over a year to avoid being forced to work in German factories. Late in the war the Nazis opened dikes in a failed attempt to stop Allied troops from defeating them, de Jong recounted from her family's history. 'My family was displaced, split up and their homes destroyed.' The Nazis cut off food and fuel, triggering the Hunger Winter and causing 22,000 civilians to die of starvation. Said de Jong: 'Five years of occupation. Five years of terror, danger and oppression. Five years of hunger, hatred and hurt. And then, finally, came the Canadians.' The soldiers hanging from those jeeps and tanks brought hope, freedom, life and liberty. 'In our family's records it is written: the war came to an end, and it was with much unity and manpower that the land and people were able to look beyond the bleak reality of what their country had become. Within a decade they left their war-torn home in search of a better future in a new land. They chose Canada.' They were not alone. The war's end triggered a wave of immigration to Canada over the coming decades. Among those who left the Netherlands were more than 1,800 war brides, some of whom met their future husbands along some cobblestone road on Liberation Day. Today, one million or more Canadians claim at least partial Dutch ancestry. Between 1951 and 1961, the Dutch Canadian population exploded by more than 60 per cent to about 430,000, according to Statistics Canada. In 2021 StatsCan pegged the number of Dutch Albertans at 4.2 per cent of the population or about 175,000 residents. Still in his role as speaker, Nathan Cooper said: 'The terrain was treacherous, the landscape formidable, and the attacking forces had all of the advantage. It was flat, soggy or flooded, and thousands and thousands of Canadians lost their lives.' Cooper said that because of 'valiant efforts of Canadian and Allied troops,' many Dutch lives were spared. Citizens were provided food and other essential supplies as the Canadian and Allied forces pushed the Nazis out of the Netherlands. The Government of Canada estimates that 7,600 Canadians died in the eight-month campaign to liberate the Netherlands. The First Canadian Army was international in makeup, including up to 175,000 Canadians and 275,000 soldiers from other nations. Under Gen. Harry Crerar, the army in northwestern Europe during the war's final phases 'was a powerful force,' says the Veteran Affairs Canada website. At the time, it was also the largest army ever put under the control of a Canadian general. 'Town by town, canal by canal, Canadian soldiers pushed back the occupying German forces in the Netherlands,' says the site. Said Cooper: 'To this day the Dutch people welcome Canadian military veterans to the shores to celebrate them and the historic efforts that were so vital in securing their freedom and the freedom of their country. Today, along with the Dutch people, we remember and we honour their efforts and sacrifices.'
Winnipeg Free Press
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Canadian students in Netherlands for 1945 liberation celebrations
HALIFAX – As the Netherlands marks the 80th anniversary of the country's liberation by the Canadian Army, more than 1,000 Canadian students will take part in events where they are expected to sense both the horror of war and the reverence of the Dutch for their liberators. Upwards of 175,000 Canadians fought as part of First Canadian Army in the Netherlands between September 1944 and early May 1945, with 7,600 killed during the campaign to liberate the country from its five-year German occupation. The fighting came to an end on May 5, 1945, when Canadian Lt.-Gen. Charles Foulkes accepted the surrender of German troops in the village of Wageningen. David Chisholm, vice-principal of Three Oaks Senior High School in Summerside, P.E.I., is a former history teacher who has long had a passion for keeping the stories of Canadian veterans alive. His school is one of five from the province taking part in the trip, which he hopes will instil the same passion in his students. 'We get the kids connected to their own families and their own community,' he said. 'They do projects, they do research and they connect to local veterans.' Chisholm said he was in the Netherlands for the 65th and 70th anniversary liberation celebrations, adding his students are about to experience something special. 'I got to experience what it's like to be a Canadian during the liberation time and the celebration … they are really going to see what it's like to be a Canadian and to be revered.' Amy Meunier, assistant deputy minister commemoration and public affairs with Veterans Affairs Canada, said her department works to help student tour groups be included in the various ceremonies, although they aren't part of Canada's official delegation. Meunier, who has worked for the department for the past 20 years, says the interest in travelling to the Netherlands for its liberation celebrations has only grown in that time. 'I think a large part of that is the role played by educators across Canada and veterans groups who go into schools and have conversations to get that spark going,' she said. Meunier said the chance for Canadian students to directly experience the gratitude of the Dutch people also leaves a lasting impression. She said it happens in a number of ways, including one-on-one conversations. 'You see this happening on a daily basis … there are always Canadian youth at events and you see those really informal connections happening and it's quite powerful,' she said. The P.E.I. group began their journey in France where on Thursday they visited the memorial to Canada's defining victory of the First World War at Vimy Ridge. The towering limestone monument, which overlooks the Douai Plain from the highest point of the ridge, is inscribed with the names of the more than 11,000 Canadian soldiers listed as missing during the first global conflict. Ian Sharpe, a Grade 12 student at Three Oaks, said it was very moving to see Vimy. 'You can appreciate it through pictures, but to see it in real life is breathtaking,' the 17-year-old said in a telephone interview from the national historic site. 'Having all those names listed one-by-one of some of the soldiers we couldn't identify, it's just hard to put into words.' The P.E.I. students also visited the Thelus military cemetery near Vimy and were then to travel to several battlefield sites in Belgium before attending ceremonies in the Dutch city of Bergen op Zoom, where there is a Canadian war cemetery. At the cemetery they will place a plaque on the grave of fallen soldier Alvah Ray Leard on behalf of his family. Leard of Northam, P.E.I., was killed in action at the age of 22 on Sept. 26, 1944. Sharpe said learning about Canada's contribution has been a revelation. 'As the trip approached, we did research in preparation for the liberation events, and it became clear how important a role we played with the liberation,' he said. Jackie Shaw, a teacher at St. Stephen Catholic Secondary School in Bowmanville, Ont., believes the celebrations will be a 'real eye-opener' for the group of 13 students from her school. Shaw said her students will take part on Sunday in a silent 'liberation march' through Bergen op Zoom that will end at the Canadian war cemetery, where some will lay wreaths. She said the students have gradually become aware of the gravity of Canada's wartime contribution. 'It's hard to get them to bridge the 80 years on some levels, but on other levels it's not so hard because they are relating to the fact that these people who were going over to fight were not much older than them,' Shaw said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2025.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Remarkable scenes of gratitude greet Canadian war veterans in the Netherlands
As a former Spitfire pilot who flew 60 missions over Nazi-occupied Europe during the Second World War, George Brewster is not one to be rattled easily. But he says experiencing the warmth and gratitude of the Dutch people who have come out to cheer him and other Canadian Second World War veterans this weekend has left him speechless. "It's a sense of wonder," said the 102-year-old resident of Duncan, B.C., who's visiting communities in the Netherlands as part of a Canadian delegation to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the war. Twenty-two Canadian vets, ranging in age from 96 to 105, have made the long transatlantic trip. Several, like Brewster, saw action in the skies, at sea or on the ground in Holland during those crucial final months of intense combat. "When you meet people you realize how gracious and kind they are, and how they remember. And that remembrance is a thing that is etched in my mind," Brewster told CBC News. On Saturday, thousands of residents of the city of Apeldoorn, which was liberated by Canadian troops on April 17, 1945, lined the streets and draped Canadian flags from their balconies as a parade with the veterans and bagpipers wound its way through the streets. Volunteers handed out Canadian flags and pins, and many nearby homes were decorated with red maple leafs. Brewster and the other vets, who were mostly pushed in wheelchairs, were treated like celebrities with onlookers reaching out to shake their hands and say thank you. "I'm a very ordinary person who has lived through many extraordinary events, but only by the grace of God. And I'm humbled by this," he said. The push through Holland and the Rhineland by the First Canadian Army in 1944 and 1945 saw a series of vicious and ultimately decisive battles that helped seal the defeat of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. Out of an estimated 175,000 Canadian soldiers who served in the First Canadian Army, 6,700 were killed. It was a Canadian general who eventually accepted the surrender of Nazi forces in the Netherlands in the town of Wageningen on May 5, 1945, the date the Dutch now call "Liberation Day." With the country facing a severe famine due to a harsh winter and inhumane treatment by its Nazi occupiers, the Canadians saved countless Dutch from dying by quickly bringing in food supplies, and staying on for months afterward until the population could stand on its own. "We are just grateful to those from overseas who came to our little country and set us free," said 57-year-old Ronald Grin, who attended the Apeldoorn parade with his 27-year-old daughter, Shawna. "They (the veterans) deserve everything — we have to welcome them back here. The youngest is 96 years old and that says how much we love them and they love us." Shawna Grin said she has visited all of the nearby cemeteries with Canadian war dead. The fact that there are 16-year-olds among them leaves her speechless. "To see that they were that young, to die for my freedom, that means a lot to me." Travelling with the war veterans are more than 200 other Canadians. Many are close family of soldiers who fought in the Netherlands campaign. Ellen Mole of Etobicoke, Ont., didn't travel with the official delegation but said she felt compelled to come following an emotional experience being part of the bagpipe band during commemorations in 2010. "It was just one of the most incredible experiences of my life," she said, holding back tears. "I was so proud to be Canadian. I really understood from the love and gratitude of the Dutch people how important our place can be and how we can help the world." For the veterans, it was also clearly an emotional day — especially for William Seifried, who celebrated his 100th birthday on Saturday. When word spread, some in the large parade crowd sang Happy Birthday. Seifried served as an infantryman with the Royal Regina Rifles and acted as a reconnaissance scout ahead of the front lines, an especially dangerous job. Leading the Canadian delegation of veterans is 101-year-old Honorary Lt.-Gen. Richard Rohmer, who served as reconnaissance pilot in the skies over the Netherlands and later went on to a distinguished peacetime career with the Canadian military. Rohmer told CBC he hopes Canadians make the connection between the liberation of the Netherlands 80 years ago and the need to maintain strong collective security relationships, such as NATO, which may be weakening under U.S. President Donald Trump. "One of the things that we have to do in our country is to pay a lot more attention than we do about our own defence," said Rohmer. "NATO is a very important partnership … and to see it starting to come apart a little bit is not very encouraging because the big nations like Russia and others will take advantage if they possibly can. So I'm hopeful that Canada will do its part, fully." The Apeldoorn parade is one of several commemorations taking place this weekend. Canada's Governor General Mary Simon is set to lay a wreath at the Holten Canadian War Cemetery on Sunday and attend commemoration events in Wageningen the next day.
CBC
03-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Remarkable scenes of gratitude greet Canadian war veterans in the Netherlands
As a former Spitfire pilot who flew 60 missions over Nazi-occupied Europe during the Second World War, George Brewster is not one to be rattled easily. But he says experiencing the warmth and gratitude of the Dutch people who have come out to cheer him and other Canadian Second World War veterans this weekend has left him speechless. "It's a sense of wonder," said the 102-year-old resident of Duncan, B.C., who's visiting communities in the Netherlands as part of a Canadian delegation to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the war. Twenty-two Canadian vets, ranging in age from 96 to 105, have made the long transatlantic trip. Several, like Brewster, saw action in the skies, at sea or on the ground in Holland during those crucial final months of intense combat. "When you meet people you realize how gracious and kind they are, and how they remember. And that remembrance is a thing that is etched in my mind," Brewster told CBC News. On Saturday, thousands of residents of the city of Apeldoorn, which was liberated by Canadian troops on April 17, 1945, lined the streets and draped Canadian flags from their balconies as a parade with the veterans and bagpipers wound its way through the streets. Volunteers handed out Canadian flags and pins, and many nearby homes were decorated with red maple leafs. Heartfelt gratitude Brewster and the other vets, who were mostly pushed in wheelchairs, were treated like celebrities with onlookers reaching out to shake their hands and say thank you. "I'm a very ordinary person who has lived through many extraordinary events, but only by the grace of God. And I'm humbled by this," he said. The push through Holland and the Rhineland by the First Canadian Army in 1944 and 1945 saw a series of vicious and ultimately decisive battles that helped seal the defeat of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. Out of an estimated 175,000 Canadian soldiers who served in the First Canadian Army, 6,700 were killed. It was a Canadian general who eventually accepted the surrender of Nazi forces in the Netherlands in the town of Wageningen on May 5, 1945, the date the Dutch now call "Liberation Day." With the country facing a severe famine due to a harsh winter and inhumane treatment by its Nazi occupiers, the Canadians saved countless Dutch from dying by quickly bringing in food supplies, and staying on for months afterward until the population could stand on its own. "We are just grateful to those from overseas who came to our little country and set us free," said 57-year-old Ronald Grin, who attended the Apeldoorn parade with his 27-year-old daughter, Shawna. 'We love them and they love us' "They (the veterans) deserve everything — we have to welcome them back here. The youngest is 96 years old and that says how much we love them and they love us." Shawna Grin said she has visited all of the nearby cemeteries with Canadian war dead. The fact that there are 16-year-olds among them leaves her speechless. "To see that they were that young, to die for my freedom, that means a lot to me." Travelling with the war veterans are more than 200 other Canadians. Many are close family of soldiers who fought in the Netherlands campaign. Ellen Mole of Etobicoke, Ont., didn't travel with the official delegation but said she felt compelled to come following an emotional experience being part of the bagpipe band during commemorations in 2010. "It was just one of the most incredible experiences of my life," she said, holding back tears. "I was so proud to be Canadian. I really understood from the love and gratitude of the Dutch people how important our place can be and how we can help the world." For the veterans, it was also clearly an emotional day — especially for William Seifried, who celebrated his 100th birthday on Saturday. When word spread, some in the large parade crowd sang Happy Birthday. Seifried served as an infantryman with the Royal Regina Rifles and acted as a reconnaissance scout ahead of the front lines, an especially dangerous job. Leading the Canadian delegation of veterans is 101-year-old Honorary Lt.-Gen. Richard Rohmer, who served as reconnaissance pilot in the skies over the Netherlands and later went on to a distinguished peacetime career with the Canadian military. Rohmer told CBC he hopes Canadians make the connection between the liberation of the Netherlands 80 years ago and the need to maintain strong collective security relationships, such as NATO, which may be weakening under U.S. President Donald Trump. "One of the things that we have to do in our country is to pay a lot more attention than we do about our own defence," said Rohmer. "NATO is a very important partnership … and to see it starting to come apart a little bit is not very encouraging because the big nations like Russia and others will take advantage if they possibly can. So I'm hopeful that Canada will do its part, fully." The Apeldoorn parade is one of several commemorations taking place this weekend.
