Bombing commemorated under great interest

Foto: Overlevende Ria Roozendaal-Martens. © Paul Rapp

Vele bezoekers kwamen naar de traditionele bijeenkomst bij oorlogsmonument De Schommel in de Marikenstraat. Geallieerde bommen legden op 22 februari 1944 een groot deel van Nijmegen-centrum in de as. Zo’n achthonderd mensen kwamen om.

Earlier there was a memorial service in the Stevenskerk with speaker Abdelkader Benali. Among the speakers at the ceremony at De Schommel were State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen, a representative of the U.S. Embassy and Mayor Hubert Bruls.

Survivor Ria Roozendaal-Martens also spoke. She was in her childhood home on the Grote Markt. She saw the Steventoren fall. And she saw girls jumping in terror from the first and second floors of the burning V&D.

"The Nijmegen traumas were processed in silence for a long time," said State Secretary Van Ooijen. "People did not dare to criticize liberators. The Dutch government also waited too long to acknowledge the suffering of Nijmegen."

"The bombing punched a hole in the hearts of Nijmegen people, they lost their loved ones," Bruls said.

The commemoration at the war memorial De Schommel on Marikenstraat in Nijmegen. © Paul Rapp

Two minutes of silence

At the moment the bombs fell in 1944, at 2 minutes before 1:30 p.m., the city's bells rang and two minutes of silence were held.

As it is the 80th anniversary of the bombing, extra attention is being paid to the commemoration this year. Wednesday evening, the eve of the catastrophic events, hundreds of people walked with lights along the Brandgrens marking the area that was destroyed. There were light projections and choirs singing along the route.

TV special

The Evangelische Omroep will broadcast a TV special about the bombing on Thursday evening, from 10:18 p.m., NPO2. This afternoon, the special will already be screened at De Vereeniging, followed by a conversation about the events and the psychological effects of bombing.

Artikel uit De Gelderlander 22-02-2024