Police arrest two after Amsterdam war memorial defaced

Two men have been arrested after the national war memorial on the Dam in central Amsterdam was defaced early on Sunday morning.

Texts were sprayed on the monument in yellow and blue paint at around 5.15am, including a skull. Police said they have not yet established a motive.

A 27-year-old man from Hoofddorp was detained after a patrol car happened to pass through the square while he was using a spray can, a police spokesperson said. A 39-year-old Polish man was caught shortly afterwards writing on the back of the monument in lipstick.

Police could not say whether the two knew each other. The monument was cordoned off with tape while cleaners removed the paint.

Mayor Femke Halsema wrote on social media that it was appalling that the monument had been targeted again, and praised officers for making immediate arrests.

The memorial, unveiled in 1956, commemorates the Dutch war dead and is the site of the annual Remembrance Day ceremony on May 4. It was sprayed with red paint hours before this year’s ceremony, and daubed during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in 2025.

A court found the man responsible for the 2025 incident guilty last month but imposed no punishment, ruling that defacing the memorial was socially unacceptable and disproportionate whatever the political message behind it.