Veteran Hans teaches children that freedom does not come naturally.

Hart van Nederland, 25 april 2025                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

In the run-up to 80 years of freedom and under increasing global tensions, it is more relevant than ever for veterans to share their stories,

to remind children and young people that freedom is still not self-evident.                     
Hartvannederland.nl                                    

(The news item below will soon be shown at Hart van Nederland.)

Eighty years of freedom, that's what we'll celebrate next month. For many people, this is still far from self-evident. For the Dutch, too, a different scenario seems to have become more tangible in recent years. Primary schools, secondary schools and higher education can therefore sign up for a guest lecture by a veteran: someone who has been on a freedom mission on behalf of the Netherlands. It is an initiative of the Veterans Institute, in which more than two hundred veterans participate. One of those guest speakers is Hans van der Louw, seasoned veteran and former soldier. This week he is in front of group 7 of primary school De Zwaan in Zwanenburg.

"You are a veteran if you are deployed on a mission, something I have done twice," says Van der Louw. He has been retired since 2018, but his veteran story does not end there. Now he regularly teaches in front of the class, especially at primary schools, "because I think those stories of veterans should be told". He also does this on behalf of people who can no longer tell this themselves.

"We have a hundred thousand veterans in the Netherlands, all of whom have meant something for peace and freedom. I have the time and make the time to tell the children of the Netherlands about it."

Hans van der Louw was chief of the King's Military Household from 2014 to 2018 and then retired as a major general. Among other things, he was a platoon commander with the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL, on whose behalf Dutch soldiers, among others, were sent to troubled Lebanon between 1979 and 1985. In 1982, this was done for 6 months under the leadership of Van der Louw. Van der Louw was also commander in 1996, this time in Bosnia.

Being realistic

That seems to do all parties involved good. "What strikes me in particular is that children are very interested in those stories. I also really have to think carefully about how I get my message across." During such a guest lesson, children are given ample opportunity to ask questions, which Van der Louw also enjoys a lot. "You almost always just have a very nice click with those kids. That makes it rewarding to do."

Because children also feel the tensions in the world well. "I teach on average once a week and I often get questions about what is going on in the world," says Van der Louw. "For example, about Gaza, but also about Ukraine. I am regularly asked if Putin is also coming our way."

For Van der Louw, it is especially important to reassure the children, but in a realistic way. "I then tell them that the Russian tanks will not drive through the streets so quickly, but that we, including children, can certainly suffer from practical problems. For example, that the light no longer comes on."

Making children think

In the end, Van der Louw prefers to make the children think. "I always ask them what freedom means to them, and also what they would like to do for it in the coming years." And that is necessary, because "freedom is a verb, we have to do something about it every day."

So, what is it like for those children to see such a veteran in real life? And what do they think of this message?
In the video below (click on the photo) you can see what such a guest lesson can unleash.