Slag om Arnhem 1944/1945; operation Market Garden. A dead city revives.

Slag om Arnhem 1944/1945; operation Market Garden. A dead city revives. On September the 17th 1944 about 12 o'clock, the airborn troops of the Second British Army were dropped around Arnhem. They were marching to their collection points and from there they advanced to the Rhine bridge. The final result of this operation, which not succeeded, was, that the town of Arnhem became a dead city. On the 19th of April 1945 at half past eight in the evening the guns of the First Canadian Army started a bombardment in order to drive out the Germans who were then masters of the town. This destruction was at the same time the signal for the revival of the city. Now the citizens of Arnhem, are coming home after they have all been deported by the Germans. But their houses are not any more, or are a heep of rubbish. Not only that the Germans with special looting commands were systematically taking away clothing, kitchen utilities etc., just outside Arnhem everything was sorted out and taken away by lorries. They try to live again with a fire in the backgarden and empty biscuittins as chairs. Rebuilding starts. The county council of Arnhem in co-operation with the Netherlands Military Administration is in charge of rebuilding and cleaning up. Teams from all over the provinces are volunteering for cleaning up the streets together with working teams of Dutch traitors and colloborators and heavily armed guards. There is no gas, electricity, telephone, lorries or building materials. But there is the determination by all the Arnhemmers to rebuild their city. Every day thousand citizens are allowed to return to Arnhem from all over the Netherlands. Every day food and other necessities for thousand more people have to be brought in. But not withstanding all these difficulties the dead city of Arnhem will rise again.