Nijmegen 1944, American bombs on the city

Most of the victims of World War II in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, died when 16 American bombers flying out of Germany destroyed much of the inner city and the area around the train station. The airmen had been under orders to bombard industrial targets within Nazi Germany.
By official account, the bombing was a mistake.

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• Nijmegen
• 1944
• WW2
• American
• bombs
• city
• Netherlands
• Holland
• industrial
• targets
• Germany
• accident
• bombing
• friendly
• fire

[johndelaparra]

The Second World War hit Nijmegen very hard. On 22 February 1944, allied bombers dropped their deadly load on Nijmegen by mistake. The pilots thought it was a German city. It was a catastrophe; the city center was totally ruined, some 800 citizens were killed, and hundreds of people were injured. In the Town Hall's courtyard, the very spot where a primary school was located, a monument in the shape of a high iron monument was erected in memory of this bombardment.

[johndelaparra]

The historical heart of Nijmegen was roughly taken out of the town. On February 22, 1944, about half past one in the afternoon, Nijmegen was startled by a bombardment, executed by American bombers. The whole of the inner city changed into a ruin within a few moments. About 800 people died in this bombardment.

[johndelaparra]

Not meant to be a pro Nazi propaganda film, in fact the opposite.

Learn from history, evil has many faces.

[nirvanarock82]

Fucking Yanks can't hit a cows arse with a banjo there's always responsible for this so called friendly fire.

[hans421]

I cannot imagine that those navigators did'n saw the difference between Nijmegen and Kleve. Brits and Ami's are trigger happy bombers. You can see it everywhere in the world, not only in Germany they destroyed almost everything.

[icemelongreen]

I was born in Nijmegen 14 years later my family came from the Dutch East Indies. They escaped the uprising there after the Japanese left. I too live in America and have recently returned to visit Nijmegen. I have seen the memorials there and the famous Bridge. It is beautiful and peaceful now it is hard to imagine a war had swept through there.

[reemstrrr]

@Porpentine1961 my whole family lives in nijmegen (olso me)

[Porpentine1961]

@reemstrrr The bombing took place in daylight, so the question of lights/backout doesn't apply. My mother is from Nijmegen and was 18 at the time; she remembers that day very well. Mercifully no-one from her family was killed.

[berrycccc]

@narwhalification Dear friend, your grandfather was a Hero. He risked his own life to liberate us, the Dutch. Those raids were very,very dangerous and even though he did so. The Dutch never ever blamed those pilots for what they did. Even still now they are honered on the national memorial day. You grandfather is one of them. One of our and your hero's. I am very sorry to hear that it worried his mind during his life.

[IustitiaPax]

@narwhalification It was no accident. Nijmegen was bombed on purpose by the U.S. Air Force and the R.A.F. in 1944. Nijmegen was a 'casual target' like thousands of Dutch, French and Belgian towns, villages and cities. Civilian victims were relativized and left unaccounted for. Of course your father acted under orders. I am glad that Churchill's crazy anthrax Operation Vegetarian was never carried out in 1944. It would have killed many European continentals.

[AnotherHerring]

@reemstrrr Lights? At 13:30? Ik denk niet...

(The Polish airborne troops were dropped near Driel, nowhere near the Waal, and crossed the Nederrijn by boat in support of the British at Arnhem. A different screwup entirely).

[reemstrrr]

@puntzakjuh at nijmegen to american drop polish paratroopers at the wrong spot right into the waal a fast and deep river non survived

[reemstrrr]

@AnotherHerring the must have know its was holland becase nijmegen had lights and no german citys did it was not legal in gemany to put on lights at night not even candles every nuw that and the britch you are talkin about was not even near the bombings

[reemstrrr]

@PECrambo my grandpa olso did he still has burns on his hands from pulling burning ppl out of the rubble he was 15 years old then that day he didint go to school and a bomb got the school and he lost all friends he known