Remembering Them on August 14

The public are warmly invited to attend a memorial event at 6pm on Wednesday, August 14, 2024 for the victims of the 1957 construction disaster that took their lives. Together with special guests, we will mark the anniversary of the Dresden tragedy, including a moment of silence at 7pm, the time when the cave-in occurred. For those who can attend in person, the memorial event will be held in the Olde Czech Hall, the same venue where the Coroner’s Inquest was held in 1957. Family members of all six victims will be in attendance. The event will be livestreamed so that anyone who is interested can join from anywhere in the world.

The Dresden cave-in was national news across Canada, and the Netherlands, from which the men had all emigrated, with their families, a few years prior. Despite extensive media coverage, the story quickly disappeared from public awareness; the only commemorative efforts to-date have been by the families of the victims. Currently in production, the “Dresden 1957” documentary aims to change that by telling this powerful story, a lost piece of Canada’s history, for audiences here, and around the world.

If you missed this event, you can still watch the livestream recording here.

The anniversary event in Dresden will also help to preserve this memory within the community. We will be joined Rhonda Jubenville, Chatham-Kent councillor for Ward 4; and Andy Cornell, pastor at the St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Dresden. We will also have online appearances from historian Anne van Arragon, whose book “Uprooted” captures the children’s experience of Dutch postwar immigration to Canada; and Michael Chappell, a retired professor of Occupational Health and Safety at Toronto Metropolitan University and the former Provincial Coordinator of Occupational Health and Safety with the Ontario Ministry of Labour.

“Immigration is a major challenge for everyone, requiring instant immersion into a strange and unfamiliar culture, said Anne van Arragon. “It was especially difficult for the families affected by the Dresden tragedy, who lost their fathers and breadwinners overnight.”

“We’re a nation of immigrants, and yet we have a mixed record when it comes to the treatment of newcomers entering the workforce,” said Michael Chappell. “Even today, they are vulnerable and precarious in their employment, and more likely to be injured or even lose their lives on the job, as these men did.

UPDATE: Journalist Trevor Terfloth from the Chatham Daily News was in attendance and wrote this article about the event.