Post by Admin on May 14, 2020 19:27:46 GMT
(31 Dec 1941) The Nazi Juggernaut Goes Into Action
On April 9, 1940, German troops invade Norway and Denmark, although both countries had claimed neutrality. Denmark is powerless to resist. In Norway, the invasion is aided by Nazi agents, "Fifth Columnists", within the country and a Norwegian citizen, Major Vidkun Quisling, whose name goes into the vocabulary for years to come as the definition of a traitor.
The Blitzkrieg Strikes The Netherlands
Call it the Dutch equivalent of Pearl Harbor if you will: the effect of the bombing of Rotterdam was as decisive as it was horrible. After several days of fierce fighting, the Nazi invasion of The Netherlands had come to a stalemate in Rotterdam. Taken by surprise by the fierce resistance of the Dutch army, Hitler knew he had to break the spirit of the Dutch people as a whole. So it was that Nazi bombers dropped incendiary bombs over Rotterdam, quickly starting a fire which destroyed approximately 25,000 homes and ended the lives of nearly 900 people. The Dutch were at last no match for the Nazi war machine. Yielding to threats that the same fate would await Utrecht and Amsterdam, the Dutch surrendered unconditionally after the bombing of Rotterdam, marking the beginning of five years of Nazi occupation.
The German ultimatum ordering the Dutch commander of Rotterdam to cease fire was delivered to him at 10:30 a.m. on May 14, 1940. At 1:22 p.m., German bombers set the whole inner city of Rotterdam ablaze, killing 30,000 of its inhabitants. (OWI) NARA FILE #: 208-PR-10L-3 WAR & CONFLICT BOOK #:
On April 9, 1940, German troops invade Norway and Denmark, although both countries had claimed neutrality. Denmark is powerless to resist. In Norway, the invasion is aided by Nazi agents, "Fifth Columnists", within the country and a Norwegian citizen, Major Vidkun Quisling, whose name goes into the vocabulary for years to come as the definition of a traitor.
The Blitzkrieg Strikes The Netherlands
On May 10, 1940, German forces again strike without warning in Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg. Hitler's real objective is France; his strategy is that these countries must be taken in order to outflank France's main defense, the Maginot Line. The bombing of Rotterdam leaves the skies red with fire. The Nazi machine breaks the back of Dutch resistance in 4 days.
Just ten days after the yearly Dutch commemoration that is Dodenherdenking and Bevrijdingsdag, the inhabitants of Rotterdam have another infamous date to remember: May 14th. It was on this day, now seventy-eight years ago, that a Nazi bombardment utterly destroyed the center of Rotterdam. Known internationally as the Rotterdam Blitz, the Dutch know it simply as het Bombardement.
The bombing of Rotterdam aka Rotterdam Blitz
The bombing of Rotterdam aka Rotterdam Blitz
Call it the Dutch equivalent of Pearl Harbor if you will: the effect of the bombing of Rotterdam was as decisive as it was horrible. After several days of fierce fighting, the Nazi invasion of The Netherlands had come to a stalemate in Rotterdam. Taken by surprise by the fierce resistance of the Dutch army, Hitler knew he had to break the spirit of the Dutch people as a whole. So it was that Nazi bombers dropped incendiary bombs over Rotterdam, quickly starting a fire which destroyed approximately 25,000 homes and ended the lives of nearly 900 people. The Dutch were at last no match for the Nazi war machine. Yielding to threats that the same fate would await Utrecht and Amsterdam, the Dutch surrendered unconditionally after the bombing of Rotterdam, marking the beginning of five years of Nazi occupation.
The German ultimatum ordering the Dutch commander of Rotterdam to cease fire was delivered to him at 10:30 a.m. on May 14, 1940. At 1:22 p.m., German bombers set the whole inner city of Rotterdam ablaze, killing 30,000 of its inhabitants. (OWI) NARA FILE #: 208-PR-10L-3 WAR & CONFLICT BOOK #:
Rotterdam after the bombardment. Image: Wikimedia Commons
Bombing of Rotterdam: the legacy
How can we best keep this part of history preserved for future generations? Not by a shitty movie with Jantje Smit, that’s for sure.
Fortunately, the people of Rotterdam are nothing if not down-to-Earth and pro-active. In a previous article, I already hinted at the exhibition De Aanval (‘The Attack’), an overwhelming experience where the horrific event of 1940 is recreated from multiple perspectives.
The most confrontational to the bombing of Rotterdam, however, is without a doubt the statue De Verwoeste Stad. Located at a square named after the year 1940, the statue leaves the viewer with a haunting image of a soul in anguish that had its heart torn out.
bombing of Rotterdam
De Verwoeste Stad (‘The Destroyed City’), by Ossip Zadkine. Image: Wikimedia Commons
Bombing of Rotterdam: the legacy
How can we best keep this part of history preserved for future generations? Not by a shitty movie with Jantje Smit, that’s for sure.
Fortunately, the people of Rotterdam are nothing if not down-to-Earth and pro-active. In a previous article, I already hinted at the exhibition De Aanval (‘The Attack’), an overwhelming experience where the horrific event of 1940 is recreated from multiple perspectives.
The most confrontational to the bombing of Rotterdam, however, is without a doubt the statue De Verwoeste Stad. Located at a square named after the year 1940, the statue leaves the viewer with a haunting image of a soul in anguish that had its heart torn out.
bombing of Rotterdam
De Verwoeste Stad (‘The Destroyed City’), by Ossip Zadkine. Image: Wikimedia Commons
The hole in the chest represents that the heart of the city of Rotterdam is missing.... its bombed away
The German bombing of Rotterdam, also known as the Rotterdam Blitz, was the aerial bombardment of Rotterdam by the Luftwaffe on 14 May 1940, during the German invasion of the Netherlands in World War II. The objective was to support the German troops fighting in the city, break Dutch resistance and force the Dutch to surrender. Even though preceding negotiations resulted in a ceasefire, the bombardment took place nonetheless, in conditions which remain controversial, and destroyed almost the entire historic city centre, killing nearly 900 people and making 85,000 others homeless.
