Established in 1946, National Remembrance Day is dedicated to recognising the resistance, solidarity, and courage shown by the people of Luxembourg in the face of Nazi occupation from 10 May 1940 onwards.
The day also pays tribute to the 10,200 young Luxembourgers forcibly conscripted into the Nazi army, of whom 2,848 never returned home.
In a proclamation issued ahead of this year's commemorations, the government emphasised the ongoing importance of remembering the courage of those who resisted at great personal risk, as well as of the forcibly conscripted and families who were displaced.
The government particularly underlined the need, even eight decades later, to honour those who stood against oppression, and those who suffered under it.
The commemoration also pays homage to Luxembourg's Jewish community, who were persecuted, deported, and murdered in concentration camps during the occupation.
The government statement further stresses that National Remembrance Day serves as a reminder of the value and fragility of freedom and dignity.
The occasion also calls on society to stand actively against racism, antisemitism, and intolerance so that such atrocities are never repeated.
This year marks a first for Grand Duke Guillaume, who delivered a speech at around 10am on Sunday at the Kanounenhiwwel memorial by the Eternal Flame in Luxembourg City.
Commemoration ceremonies are held throughout the day, with representatives of victims' associations and former conscripts gathering at several symbolic locations: the Kaddish Monument for Shoah victims, the Gëlle Fra, the Hinzerter Cross at the Notre-Dame Cemetery, and the Deportation Memorial near Luxembourg-Gare.
Several government officials, including Minister of Justice Elisabeth Margue, Minister for Home Affairs Léon Gloden, and Prime Minister Luc Frieden, along with Chamber President Claude Wiseler, will also deliver speeches.
An additional ceremony will take place outside the capital in the afternoon, at the Lycée Edward Steichen in Clervaux, where Minister for Agriculture Martine Hansen is scheduled to speak.
The date of National Remembrance Day traces back to 10 October 1941, when the Nazi authorities attempted to conduct a population census designed to pressure Luxembourgers into declaring themselves as German.
The resistance responded by urging the population to answer "Luxembourgish" to all questions. The campaign was so successful that the authorities eventually cancelled the census.
In retaliation for this defiance, Nazi officials arrested 200 resistance fighters.
