On Saturday, October 7, 2023, the traditional annual commemorative meeting, memorial service and consecration of the newly installed marble crosses (29 pcs.) to Serbian soldiers who died in K. Holland during the First World War. A commemorative meeting was held at the monument located in the local cemetery in Garderen.

The memorial service and consecration were performed by the priests of the Eparchy of the Western European Serbian Orthodox Church.

In front of the Embassy R. of Serbia in The Hague was attended by Ambassador K. Milenković and advisor B. Grbić. An appropriate wreath was laid under the monument to the fallen Serbian soldiers.

The meeting was attended by dozens of our and Dutch citizens, as well as priests of the Serbian Orthodox Church and representatives of R. of Serbia at Eurojust and Europol.

Ambassador K. Milenković and the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Najmegen, Father Dušan Erdelj, reminded the audience in appropriate speeches that by the decision to co-finance projects that contribute to the preservation and strengthening of ties between the mother country and the diaspora, RSD 500,000 was allocated for the mentioned project from the budget of R. Serbia. Also, the crosses were transported at the expense of MSP (2,685.00 euros) at the end of June 2022 from Serbia to the Netherlands. SPC, with the help of citizens, financed the rest of the funds of around 7,000 euros, through various events and donor evenings.

The memorial in Garderen is the only monument dedicated to Serbian soldiers in the Netherlands and as such contributes to preserving the culture of remembering our ancestors who died during the First World War. These are soldiers who, on their return from captivity in Germany, were accommodated in the Millingen camp (near Garderen). An epidemic of Spanish flu prevailed, so 29 soldiers died in January 1919. In 2021, the Embassy, together with representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the diaspora, launched an initiative to replace worn-out wooden crosses with marble crosses as a permanent solution to this problem.