A custom-built "Liberation Guitar" was presented to mark the 80th anniversary of the Canadian First Army’s role in liberating the Netherlands during WWII.
IIn a moving, intimate ceremony at the Freedom Museum, a custom-built “Liberation Guitar” was presented to mark the 80th anniversary of the Canadian First Army’s role in liberating the Netherlands during WWII. The presentation was made by Richard Thain, whose connection to the event is deeply personal: his mother was a brave member of the Dutch Resistance before immigrating to Canada.
(Dr Richard George Lourens Thain)
Bonjour! Goede morgen! Good morning, everyone!
Thank you all for being here. And thank you, Professor Frank Mehring, for organizing this event. I would also like to thank my new friends and colleagues here at the Freedom Museum for inviting me to say a few words. It is an honour to stand here—at a place where memory, scholarship, and gratitude converge.
Two custom-made guitars have been built to commemorate the eightieth anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands, and to honour the vital role played by the Canadian First Army in 1944–45.
Our intention has always been twofold:
- One guitar, to be gifted to the Netherlands.
- One guitar, to be auctioned as a fundraiser benefiting organizations that preserve and celebrate this shared history—potentially a veterans’ association, the Canadian Tulip Festival, the Freedom Museum, or a Dutch university. This is a work in progress. Details are yet to be decided.
The inspiration emerged during a family conversation last year, back in 2024. My Dutch cousins and I were speaking about the Liberation and about our family’s history. Someone suggested—half in jest, half in hope—that my son-in-law, David Lewis, a luthier based in Cantley, Quebec, might consider building a special instrument in honour of the 80th anniversary, coming up on May 5, 2025.
David did not hesitate. He accepted the challenge with enthusiasm, imagination, and humility. His goal was simple yet profound:
to create an instrument that could serve as a gift from our family in Canada to the people of the Netherlands—a symbol of freedom, gratitude, and friendship.
That was the birth of the Liberation Guitar.
Before I go further, my wife, Réjeanne, sends her warmest greetings. She could not be here today. She is my best friend—and a wonderful French-Canadian woman, une québécoise, from la Beauce region, near Quebec City.
Yesterday she offered me her usual, loving advice on my speech: “Richard, keep it short! Get to the point!”
Or, as she puts it (from an expression used when a woman is giving birth): “À couche! À couche!” (Push! Push! Give birth!)
(Laughter)
Her wise counsel notwithstanding, I would like to share just a little bit more with you.
My mother, Martha Reina de Boer, was born here in the Netherlands…in Heerenveen, Friesland. During the war she was part of the Dutch Resistance in Amsterdam, saving many lives. After the Liberation, like many Dutch citizens filled with hope for a new life, she immigrated to Canada.
Her story—like so many others—is part of the human fabric that binds our two nations. It is also what makes this moment deeply personal for me.
INVITING MARTINUS SLUIJTER—SUMMARY IN DUTCH
I would now like to invite my dear cousin, Martinus Sluijter, to say a few words in Dutch. Martinus will read a very short summary describing the symbolism and purpose of this commemorative guitar.
Martinus:
Deze Bevrijdingsgitaar is een geschenk van vriendschap tussen Nederland en Canada. Zij is bedoeld als een symbool én als een ambassadeur van internationale vrede, vrijheid en verbondenheid tussen alle mensen ter wereld. Moge dit instrument ons herinneren aan wat wij samen hebben bereikt—en inspireren tot vrede en begrip, nu en in de toekomst. *
This Liberation Guitar is a gift of friendship between the Netherlands and Canada. It is intended as a symbol and an ambassador of international peace, freedom, and solidarity among all peoples worldwide. May this instrument remind us of what we have achieved together—and inspire peace and understanding, now and in the future.
THE GUITAR AS A SYMBOL OF FRIENDSHIP AND PEACE
This guitar is more than an object. It is a symbol of the deep friendship between the Netherlands and Canada—a friendship born in suffering, courage, and liberation.
It is also a reminder of universal principles:
• the dignity of every human being
• the value of reason
• the necessity of peace
• and the fragile, precious nature of freedom
The great Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza wrote:
“Peace is not the absence of war; it is a virtue, a mindset, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, and justice.”
And Hugo de Groot—Hugo Grotius—whose work laid the foundation for international law, wrote:
Dutch:
“De menselijke samenleving is er voor onderlinge hulp.”
French:
“La société humaine existe pour l’entraide mutuelle.”
English:
“Human society is for mutual help.”
These principles guided the Dutch Resistance. They guided the Canadian forces who arrived here in 1944–45. And they guide us today.
REFLECTIONS ON….EVOLUTION, HUMANITY, AND THE ROLE OF MUSIC
We now know—from genetics, anthropology, and the work of scientists such as Dutch primatologist Frans de Waal—that all human beings belong to a single, global family. Evolutionary science makes this clear: the differences between us are tiny, and our shared origins are profound.
Perhaps one day, with this understanding, war itself will become obsolete.
Music plays a role in that hope.
Music has been with us for tens of thousands—perhaps hundreds of thousands—of years. It may well be older than language. It has been part of every known human culture. It helps us communicate emotions that words cannot hold.
Could Homo sapiens have survived without music? Perhaps not. Music helps us bond. It helps us grieve. It helps us celebrate. It helps us imagine.
That is why the guitar—simple, beautiful, universally understood—is such a fitting symbol for the ideals we honour today: justice, peace, compassion, and the shared humanity of all people.
David Lewis—the talented luthier who built this guitar—has ancestors from Lebanon, a land in the Middle East that has known more than its share of conflict and turmoil.
His personal story reminds us that war and peace are not abstract concepts; they shape real families, real lives, across generations.
Yes, today we commemorate the liberation of the Netherlands eighty years ago. Yes, we honour the sacrifices of the Canadian First Army. And yes, we remember the suffering of the Dutch people—and of all nations caught in the tragedy of the Second World War.
But may this Liberation Guitar become more than a national symbol.
May it become a universal symbol—
- A symbol of liberation.
- A symbol of friendship.
- A symbol of understanding between all peoples and all nations.
Merci beaucoup. Dank u wel. Danke schön. Thank you, everyone!
Let this guitar continue to speak—through music—for generations to come.
Dr Richard G.L. Thain
November 19, 2025
Vrijheidmuseum,
Freedom Museum
Groesbeek, Netherlands
- Vrijheidmuseum – G oogle Search
- Freedom Museum – Wikipedia
- Prof. F. Mehring (Frank) | Radboud University
- National liberation skirt – Wikipedia
(The National Liberation Museum is now called The Freedom Museum.)
*Martinus: (SUMMARY TRANSLATION)
This Liberation Guitar is a gift of friendship between the Netherlands and Canada. It is intended as a symbol and as an ambassador of international peace, freedom, and connectedness among all people of the world. May this instrument remind us of what we have achieved together—and inspire peace and understanding, now and in the future.