Commemorating liberation, resisting fascism, and defending fundamental rights: May 8th deserves to be a Belgian public holiday.
The time has come. May 8th, a day of liberation, ought to be a day of celebration. A moment for commemoration, for vigilance, for defence. A moment of social cohesion. A jointly expressed will for peace and solidarity. A call to action.
Nineteen thirty-three. The first Nazi concentration camps were populated by trade unionists, left-wing activists and democrats. Across the continent, people chose to resist: unity against fascism. In Belgium, resistance was offered when the Vlaamsch Nationaal Verbond and REX spread hatred and Jews were targeted. When the Nazi occupier unleashed harsh repression, they organised resistance. Twelve years later, they achieved the impossible: together with the Allies, they defeated fascism.
May 8th, 1945: the day of that victory, Victory in Europe Day: Nazi Germany capitulated. The new wind of freedom led to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and gave space to the struggle for social security and the decolonisation movement. For many, racism, anti-Semitism and negationism were now considered criminal, even though it took decades before this was legally reflected.
Today, May 8th is a public holiday in many European countries, in France for example. In the Netherlands, Liberation Day is celebrated on May 5th. Until 1974, schoolchildren in Belgium had the day off on May 8th, but the then national Ministry of Education abolished that day off. Today, the memory of May 8th has faded in our country.
Trade unions have rallied their members around fundamental rights, trade union rights and the threat of the extreme right. Civil society and citizen organisations stand up against exclusion and racism. Members of the resistance and the survivors of the Nazi camps have testified in schools. We want to keep their resistance alive, because those who have no memory have no future.
It is time to give May 8th the place it deserves once again, as an additional Belgian holiday. A former resistance fighter said: “The far right is coming back, first on their slippers, then on their bones.” In several European countries, they are reviving their old ideas and challenging traditional politics. Their false social image masks a divide-and-rule programme.
At the same time, democratic space is being restricted, human rights, trade unions and civil society are being threatened, and the separation of powers is being eroded. Racism, discrimination, negationism, sexism, extreme nationalism, Islamophobia and homophobia are on the rise.
All this is happening at a time when fundamental principles like science and reason, and achievements like social security, democratic rights and public services, are being questioned by policymakers. This provides fertile ground for the extreme right. The society of “everyone for himself” and “our people first” is growing, as are inequality and division. The deep divide between rich and poor is getting deeper. That is why May 8th also encompasses the defence of social rights for everyone.
The time has come. May 8th, the day of liberation, should be a day of celebration once more. To commemorate, to warn, to defend. As a moment of social cohesion. As a jointly expressed will for peace and solidarity. As a call to action. So that young and old can see what hatred can lead to and what an ugly beast fascism is. Because only when you know the past and we remain vigilant about our constitutional freedoms, only then can we, now and in the future, make the right choices. So that this terrible history never, ever repeats itself! Because whoever remains silent now must fear everything. It is time for a May 8th coalition.
And: the efforts of many people pay off! On April 10, 2025, a resolution about the extraordinary resistance of ordinary people during WW2 was passed in the Belgian federal parliament, bringing our request to make May 8th a public holiday one step closer! All parties voted “in favour,” except for Vlaams Belang (extreme right (with Patriots for Europe at EU level)), who abstained.
For the Belgian 8th of May coalition.
Ellen De Soete is coordinator of the 8th of May coalition.