Podcast series The bombing of Nijmegen

"It was not a mistake bombing."

Nijmegen theater producer and filmmaker create podcast together about the bombing of Nijmegen.

On Feb. 22, 1944, Nijmegen was bombed by American planes. In a few minutes, more than 200 American bombs fell on the city. Much of the historic center was wiped out and nearly 800 people were killed. After the 1953 flood disaster
, the bombing of Nijmegen is one of the greatest humanitarian disasters in the Netherlands.

In 2023, it will be 79 years since the bombs fell. The generation that experienced the bombing itself, the eyewitnesses, are slowly dying out. To make sure their stories don't die with them, theater producer Annigje de Winter and filmmaker Sonja Willems, decided to record their stories in a three-part podcast series, "Het Bombardement op Nijmegen.

On Feb. 21, 2022, the podcast "The bombing of Nijmegen" premiered at the Infocentrum WO2, in Nijmegen.

'Het Bombardement op Nijmegen' tells the story of the Nijmegen bombing in three episodes of about 30 minutes, based on personal stories of eyewitnesses. Addy Hendriks-Gerrits, Ria Roozendaal-Martens, Frans Verheijen and Hanny Schoonwater-Schell, all have their own story about the bombing. Historian Joost Rosendaal, affiliated with Radboud University, places their personal stories in historical context.

Photo: The burning city seen from the north. [Source: Regionaal Archief Nijmegen]

One of the things Willems and de Winter wanted to find out in the podcast is what exactly went wrong on that fateful Feb. 22 in 1944. Was it a mistake? Did the Americans mistake Nijmegen for the German town of Kleve? Or is the truth more complicated after all?

Joost Rosendaal; "The bombing of Nijmegen is often called a mistake bombing. But it was not a mistake. It was a deliberate bombing of Nijmegen's railroad yard."

Sonja Willems; “Mijn eigen vader maakte het bombardement mee en elke keer als wij erover praten voel ik zijn frustratie over dat woordje vergissing. Een van onze doelen was om recht te doen aan al die Nijmegenaren die het bombardement zelf hebben meegemaakt. Voor hen is het belangrijk dat
deze gebeurtenis de aandacht krijgt die het verdient, ook op nationale schaal.”

Annigje de Winter; "It was such a valuable opportunity that we were able to capture the stories of the people who experienced the bombing themselves and put them into a new form and in this way preserve them for the future. I was very impressed by the zest for life and positivity of the
people we interviewed."

Photo: Annigje de Winter and Sonja Willems

'Het bombardement op Nijmegen' has been available to listen to on various podcast channels such as Spotify and Apple podcast since February 22. After February 22, the series will be supplemented by a listening tour of various locations in Nijmegen, such as nursing homes, community centers and schools.
Educational material for primary and secondary schools is also being developed. For more information about the podcast, the listening tour and the educational material, please visit bombardementnijmegen.nl.

'Het bombardement op Nijmegen' is a three-part podcast series by Annigje de Winter and Sonja Willems and was financially supported in part by Gemeente Nijmegen, Provincie Gelderland, the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds and the V-fonds.