STORIES BOMBARDMENT NIJMEGEN 1944
STORIES TO BE TOLD
80 years ago, on February 22, 1944, the inner city of Nijmegen was completely destroyed. The bombing came unexpectedly and from an unexpected source. In the middle of the day, just after the air raid had ended and many people came out of the shelters again.
Still stories are surfacing that we didn't already know. Stories of the terrible events of that day, but also of how people still found the strength to go on.
Stories that need to be told before they disappear into the fog of the past. Because they tell about survival under difficult circumstances and because they are - unfortunately - very topical. In Nijmegen, too, we receive many people who have fled war in their homeland and are trying to build a new life here.
Their stories give us insight into what it must have been like for our fellow townspeople all those years ago, when the city had to be rebuilt and lives had to be picked up. Their stories also illustrate the value of living in peace and freedom and the importance of protecting this way of life. Freedom cannot be taken for granted.
That is why it is important that we continue to pay attention to the victims of war and violence, both past and present. And to do so together, with all Nijmegen citizens. Only by listening to others with attention, compassion and tolerance - whether the story took place 80 years ago or more recently - can we create a society in which everyone is of value. I cordially call on you to participate.
Hubert Bruls,
Mayor of Nijmegen
Newsreel film about the consequences of the Allied bombing of Enschede and Nijmegen. With footage of the burning and devastated city center, debris clearance and the burial of the unknown victim. [Source: Stichting Nijmegen Blijft in Beeld]
