Several panels depicting black soldiers removed from a World War II cemetery in the Netherlands: fears that this is part of Trump’s campaign to rewrite history

Dutch officials have raised “serious concerns” after learning that two commemorative panels about the contribution of World War II Black American soldiers and the segregation that they faced in the visitor center of the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten had been replaced.

In a joint statement from eleven political parties in the province of Limburg, where the cemetery is located, called the removal of the panels “indecent and unacceptable,” and that the move “does not do justice to history.”

“We will urgently appeal to [the US ambassador] and the American Battle Monuments Commission to put the panels back where they belong,” said Emile Roemer, the top official in Limburg, in a statement. He will meet with the current US ambassador in the Netherlands, Joseph Popolo, to discuss the matter of what appears to be the Trump administration yet again whitewashing Black history.

What panels were removed at the US WWII cemetery?

One of the panels in question honored George H. Pruitt, who died in 1945 at the age of 23 while trying to rescue a comrade in a river in Germany. The second one explained the segregation policy that prevailed in the US Army during WWII and how Black American soldiers were “fighting on two fronts”: one for freedom overseas and one for their civil rights at home.

The second one also contained a description from Jefferson Wiggins on the horrors Black service members faced digging the graves of their fallen comrades in terrible conditions including. Many of the dead soldiers’ bodies were severely mutilated which left them crying and “completely traumatized.”

A spokesperson for the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) told El País that the display contains 15 magnetic panels that are designed to rotated over the course of the exhibition. This will allow the greatest possible number of individual stories to be highlighted added the statement.

The spokesperson said that Pruitt’s is currently “not on display, although it is still part of the collection.” ABMC said that there are still four others about African American soldiers buried in the cemetery on display.

History of the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten

Created in 1944, the Margraten cemetery was leased in perpetuity to the US government, which administers the site. The solemn resting place of American soldiers that fell in combat has become an integral part of the local community.

Since the end of World War II in 1945, many locals have adopted grave sites to pay homage to those heroes sacrifice to help liberate their nation. They have not only been bringing flowers to them over the decades but maintaining them in perfect condition.

Around 8,300 American soldiers buried in the cemetery and the names of another 1,722 considered missing in the war are on display. Among them are 174 Black Americans WWII service members.

The visitor center was opened two years ago, but it wasn’t until September 2024 that the panels were first put up to reflect the contribution of Black American World War II service members.

The move was in response to local officials bringing to the attention of the then-US ambassador under President Biden, Shefali Razdan Duggal, that the center’s exhibition lacked mention of Black soldiers’ participation in liberating the Netherlands as well as that they were primarily the ones that did the work at the cemetery under harsh conditions, all while dealing with segregation.

If the removed panels are not put back, officials have discussed establishing their own display to honor Black American service members’ participation in liberating the Netherlands.

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