Posters on devastation, reconstruction and aid

In the St. Stevenskerk and the Molenstraatkerk, as well as at several places along the route, posters were on display during the week of Feb. 22, 2023, with images of the 1944 devastation, the help Nijmegen received in rebuilding, and the help the city itself later showed. Below is an overview of these posters.

Marikenstraat | Koningsplein

HIT IN THE HEART. Where Koningsplein and the lowest part of Marikenstraat now draw many outgoing and shopping crowds, until February 22, 1944, there were four densely populated old city streets: Oude Stadsgracht, Lange Nieuwstraat, Pauwelstraat and Oude Koningstraat. One of the 35 victims of the bombing who lived there was 15-year-old Dolly Detmers. She studied at the Nursery School of the French Sisters at
Groesbeekseweg. She lived with her parents, brothers and sisters on Oude Koningstraat. On Feb. 22, Dolly wanted to redeem a
candy coupon at pastry shop Van Aerde on Burchtstraat just before school when the bombs fell and she was severely wounded. Shortly thereafter, she died in Canisius Hospital.

RECONSTRUCTION: ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES. The current Koningsplein was part of the larger Mariënburgplein before the war.
Urban planners had divided the center into functional areas on the drawing board in the design of the new city center: Doddendaal as spiritual center, Square 1944 as leisure center, around Hertogstraat the financial center and around Mariënburg the administrative center. It was here, then, that after the war, close to the City Hall, the police station and the Social Services Department arose. Both buildings have since disappeared. The Mariënburg Chapel miraculously survived the war. With that, this place is a journey through history. The Mariënburg Chapel dates from the 15th century, the buildings on Koningsplein from the reconstruction period, and Marikenstraat and the new Mariënburgplein from the 21st century.

NIJMEGEN HELPT

SOLIDARITY THEN AND NOW. When Nijmegen was asked to help Afghans - and later Syrians - in need, we stood ready en masse to welcome them. 'Refugees welcome' was written at the entrance to the tent camp in Heumensoord.
Nijmegen citizens collected warm clothes, taught them how to ride a bike, invited them to their homes.

MARIKENSTRAAT | BURCHTSTRAAT

HIT IN THE HEART. In the approach route of the American planes from the east to the railroad yard, the center streets Kelfkensbos/Valkhofplein and Lange Burchtstraat were hit first. There, around 1:30 p.m., a total of 111 people were killed. In the process, on the Valkhofplein/Kelfkensbos, eight elementary school students of the brother school were killed, mostly hit by splinter bombs. 32 Kindergarteners from the nearby Montessori school and eight nuns from the St. Louis convent were killed. In addition, 19 staff members of sewing workshop Haspels died, as well as dozens of shoppers, who tried in vain to take shelter in the store porches from the
bombing. At the site of the destroyed kindergarten, the monument The Swing was unveiled in the year 2000.

RECONSTRUCTION: ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES. In November 1946 the mayor of Albany, capital of the state of New York, established a committee that would coordinate the aid to Nijmegen. In March 1947, a delegation from this committee visited Nijmegen to learn about the needs of the Nijmegen population. The Albany committee was given a festive welcome with a large banner on the emergency stores on Kelfkensbos. Members of the delegation were received at City Hall. They spoke with business owners and visited Canisius Hospital, an elementary school and a family living in a bomb shelter. They also laid wreaths at the American cemetery in Molenhoek. Direct radio broadcasts were made from the town hall on Burchtstraat to Albany with an appeal to help Nijmegen rebuild.

NIJMEGEN HELPT

SOLIDARITY THEN AND NOW. When October 2022, Nijmegen was again called upon to receive refugee Ukrainians, Nijmegen was again ready. In Waalhaven, residents hung out the Ukrainian flag en masse to welcome their new neighbors, who were offered gym lessons here on the roof of their temporary residence. In Brakkenstein, sports clubs, neighborhood councils and hospitality entrepreneurs immediately announced that the refugees were welcome in the temporary shelter on the d'Almarasweg.

AUGUSTINE STREET | GRAND MARKET

STRUCK TO THE HEART. The heart of pre-war Nijmegen was the Grote Markt. The bombardment hit that market square and its immediate surroundings hard: in numbers of dead and material. Eighty people died here in total: on the Grote Markt itself 18, including four girls from Oss, at the Hema and V&D thirteen, at the St. Stevenstoren eight, including five members of the Air Protection Service. However, most of the fatalities (37) occurred at the Deutsche Feldpost. That was a large post office of the German army, located in the back part of the V&D. Eight German and 29 Dutch
personnel were killed here. The appearance of the Grote Markt was also badly battered: the St. Stevenskerk lost the top half of its tower and the premises of the V&D and Hema burned out completely and were damaged beyond repair.

RECONSTRUCTION: ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES. Before the war, Augustijnenstraat did not open onto Grote Markt, but 30 meters further onto Stikke Hezelstraat. The new, wider Augustijnenstraat had to provide a smooth connection between the Grote Markt and the NS railway station and, after construction of the railroad tunnel in 1966, with Nijmegen-West. After years of being housed in makeshift stores, the V&D and HEMA regained their prominent spots on the Grote Markt. Both were built with modern materials such as concrete, glass and metal. That modernism caused much comment. It would be disrespectful to the Waag and the St. Stevenskerk. The architect of the HEMA building, Abraham Alsace, argued that he had actually been very respectful. The glass facade reflects the old and from the lunchroom there was a view of the Waag and the St. Stevens Church.

HELP FROM ALBANY

SOLIDARITY THEN AND NOW. October 1946 Mayor Hustinx receives word from the "Dutch Settlers Society of Albany" that it is forming an aid committee for Nijmegen. Together with the citizens of Albany, it organizes aid for our devastated city. Food, clothing, kitchen utensils and hospital supplies are being collected. In addition, the committee helps with the rebuilding of the St. Stevenskerk, among other things. March 1947 a delegation comes to Nijmegen to take stock of what Nijmegen needs most. With a "Nijmegen Week," the relief action starts in Albany on April 14, 1947. The action was a resounding success.

GANZENHEUVEL | STIKKE HEZELSTRAAT

HIT IN THE HEART. In the Stikke Hezelstraat there were a particularly high number of casualties. This was due to direct hits, but it was also because the stricken upper part of the tower of St. Steven's Church crashed onto the houses. Thus, a total of 97 people died in this densely inhabited shopping street: in the streets and in thirteen houses. In the adjacent Lange Hezelstraat and the adjacent part of Houtstraat another
17 people were killed. Particularly sad was the fate of the child-rich caravan families Stuiver and Rolink. They had been robbed of their caravans at the end of 1943 and moved to 41 Stikke Hezelstraat. That was the house of the deported Jewish widow Glaser-Egger. Twelve of them were killed when the spire crushed their house: three parents and nine young children.

RECONSTRUCTION: ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES. By the end of 1945, the rubble in downtown had been cleared. Reconstruction could begin. For quite some time there was discussion about how the city should be rebuilt. A modern city or a traditional city. However, there was no discussion about the St. Stevenstoren. It, like the Town Hall, was the pride of Nijmegen. Restoration was a logical decision. The rebuilding started in 1948.
In 1953 the completion followed. Except for a few small parts, the tower looks the same as it did before the destruction. The tower became taller, the onion more convex and the number of loudspeaker valves larger. A concrete structure was used to make the tower a lot sturdier. Wood was scarce immediately after the war and the concrete provided a solid foundation.

HELP FROM ALBANY

SOLIDARITY THEN AND NOW. A selection from the correspondence between 'Albany' and 'Nijmegen'. Of particular note is the inventory list 'Reconstruction Nijmegen-St. Steven-church'. Whether the order arrived and the wood was used for the reconstruction of St. Steven's Church is unclear. It remains a nice thought that the wood in the roof of the church may have come from Albany.

PLEIN 1944

HIT IN THE HEART. On the site of this postwar square, five narrow medieval streets still ran before the bombing. These were the Oude Varkensmarkt and the (then much narrower) Houtstraat with three side alleys. On Feb. 22, 1944, there were a total of 40 casualties there. The shoe store Holland with upstairs apartment at 12 Houtstraat was also badly hit. This killed Ria Holland-Giepmans and three of her children: Helma, Ria and Albert, plus three staff members. Two watercolors hang in Holland's current building on Plein 1944; one is "The phoenix from the ashes" with the initials of all those who perished there.

RECONSTRUCTION: ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES. Urban planners designed a modern square in the devastated inner city: Square 1944. The vehicle of progress, the car,
could park there, and buses could get deep into the inner city. The square was also designed for lodging and recreation. There will be two cinemas, the American-looking Carolus and Luxor, and the Houtstraat will have Centrum. Lunchroom American, Café Restaurant Royal and Cafetaria Groenen will have their place there. There will also be plenty of shopping. There will be tattoos and military parades, the monument to the fallen soldier by Jac. Maris will be placed, the fair will be held, artists will perform during the Four Days Marches and there will be a weekly fruit and vegetable market. Square 1944 is "the place to be" in the 50s and 60s.

HELP FROM NEAR AND FAR

SOLIDARITY THEN AND NOW. In addition to help from the Netherlands, Nijmegen also received help from elsewhere. For example, the Swiss town of Freiburg made study places at the university available to Nijmegen students. The city also organized concerts. The proceeds were for Nijmegen. England, for example, received 150 children from Nijmegen to nurse them back to health. Later, Nijmegen children could also go on vacation in Switzerland.

VAN SCHAECK MATHONSINGEL | NS STATION

HIT IN THE HEART. The station area of occupied Nijmegen was one of the "targets of opportunity" of the American planes when the targets in Germany proved unreachable due to bad weather. There were many casualties in the marshalling yards and waiting rooms of the badly damaged NS station and especially in the busy station square. Here the bombardment of February 22, 1944 took the lives of 139 people. In and near the station building 34 died; in the large square in front of it 105. There, in addition to the many dozens of pedestrians and passers-by, passengers of the already ready bus to Wijchen and of streetcar line 1 were riddled. The victims were Nijmegen citizens, residents of neighboring towns and other people passing through: old and young, large and small.

RECONSTRUCTION: ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES. After the destruction of the prewar station, architect Sybold van Ravesteyn was commissioned to design a new station (1953). He designed it as a Tuscan arcade with an unadulterated campanile, inspired by the old Tuscan city centers. Elements of the old station can still be seen on the platform side, by the way. Van Ravesteyn designed not only a building, but also a station square consisting of two parts. The southern facade was completed by an equestrian statue by the sculptor Jo Uiterwaal. The kneeling figures on the facade are also by his hand, as well as the two reliefs above the portal and the three figures next to the main entrance. The station tunnel opened in 1966 is the final piece of the reconstruction. This tunnel connects the new center with Nijmegen-West.

HELP FROM NEAR AND FAR

SOLIDARITY THEN AND NOW. Not only Albany in the US came to the aid of the Nijmegen people. The Dutch population also showed its support. The newspaper clippings on this poster show a small selection of the support Nijmegen received. Whether it was beds or stoves or toys for children, the Dutch gave generously. The heart of pre-war Nijmegen was the Grote Markt. The bombardment hit that market square and its immediate surroundings hard: in numbers of dead and material.