“Freedom” is not a word I throw around very much. For me, it has been put into duty for evil, wicked purposes by the likes of G. W. Bush, a little bit too much for my taste.

But now and then its core meaning surfaces.

In Oslo, there are monuments in a graveyard dedicated to those who fought for Norway’s freedom during WWII. The Soviets, Dutch, Poles, Swedes, Norwegians, Common Wealth forces, all are represented. Possibly more. I didn’t canvas the whole cemetery.

In 1945 a young, 37, Dutch man died and his grave is found there. We who have traveled around Europe are used to seeing these sad monuments.

But on his grave, B. Schoonbeek’s grave, his family has left a new stone in remembrance:

“Freedom is not a right, it is a duty
Thank-you for our freedom.”

Schoonbeek family
May 4, 2007

We all owe a lot to a lot of young men. It is heartening to see that debt reconfirmed, over 50 years later.

It feels like it has been a slow week photographically. The best was probably a couple of portraits of Ewa. The first one with the old uncoated Elmar:

The second one was with a Kiev-4a and a Jupiter-9 (Sonnar lens made in the former Soviet Union).

There are some more shots from the week, from Copenhagen, Odense and Göteborg, in the shoebox for the week.