At this point in the trip, I’m kind of tracing the path that the Allied forces took from the west when they were pushing the Germans back at the end of WWII. I took an hour-long train ride to the city of Arnhem today to check out a few museums on Operation Market Garden, the largest paratrooper battle in history.
Context
As they neared Germany, the Western Allies realized that they would need to cross the Rhine river to end the war. To do that more easily, they needed to capture bridges capable of holding tanks. To do this, they put together Operation Market Garden, which would see thousands of paratroopers dropped strategically over the Netherlands to secure bridges before they could be destroyed. I found out today that the Americans were actually dropped much further south, while the British were dropped here at Arnhem.
On September 17, 1944, nearly 10,000 British paratroopers parachuted into the area with vehicles, artillery, and everything else they’d need to capture the bridge and hold it until help arrived. They pushed towards the bridge but found much stronger opposition than they expected. Only a small group made it to the bridge. They captured the north side, only to be attacked constantly for two days until they ran out of ammunition. The much larger group also became surrounded and took up refuge around the hotel that the museum was in. They fought hard for nine days, then attempted a retreat across the river. Only 2,000 would make it.
I was surprised to learn that Polish paratroopers played an important role in the battle. They were dropped to reinforce the waning British forces. That’s surprising because Poland had been conquered by the Germans for nearly 5 years at that point. I also learned that this was the first time people in the area had seen fighting in the war. It had all been far away until that point. The Dutch were excited to see the Brits and helped them frequently. Unfortunately, the raging battle damaged a lot of homes. After the battle, the Germans forced everyone in the area to leave. They were told they would only be gone for a week, but it was nine months before anyone would come home. When the people returned, their city had been levelled. Still, they were grateful for the Allies and had erected a monument less than two years later.
Arnhem was a battle I’d heard of but never knew much about. I learned a lot today. The stories of the locals seeing the war arrive on their doorsteps was deeply moving. It made me think again about how grateful I am that we’ve been spared that (so far) in America. This museum focused a lot on the stories of individuals, which made it extremely meaningful and sad. I’ve said it before, but I’ve never been very emotional about the war. Seeing each battle site and reading so many stories is changing that though. By the time we make it to the concentration camps, I’m curious how I’ll hold up.
The 2nd museum
I checked out another WWII museum in Arnhem, which turned out to be a private collection of WWII artifacts. It was absolutely massive. I learned nothing in that museum because there were hardly any labels, but it was the most interesting and impressive collection I’ve ever seen. Sadly, they didn’t allow pictures! Not sure why they’d have so much on display if they don’t want people to share it. Oh well.
Some things of note about that museum were items from one of Hitler’s homes (a couch, desk, wall paneling, etc.) and lots of recovered artifacts from the woods. I think the museum owners go looking in the forests with metal detectors. The amount of helmets, guns, and vehicles they had covered in rust and mud was absolutely amazing. I can’t believe there’s so much out there still. I’ll have to come treasure hunting someday.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is such an interesting city. I haven’t had to use Dutch even once to communicate. So weird. I’ve learned more about the bicycles! They’re very stylish and vintage-looking, and everyone seems to have the same models. Apparently, the Dutch take a lot of pride in their bikes. They’re specially designed to be left outside, so they have all kinds of features to accommodate that. The bicycles are made so that you can sit upright (why aren’t all bikes like that?) and the women’s bikes have a concave frame so that they can get on the bikes without lifting their skirts. You’ll see lots of tandem bikes, cargo bikes, and kid-carrying bikes. They have headlamps and tail lights built in. They’re just super cool. You can actually get them imported into the US! Check out the website here to see all the different kinds they have around here.
I tried a classic Dutch meal today called Bitterballs. I ordered beef, so I was expecting fried beef chunks. Nope! I don’t even know what to compare them to. I think the best explanation I can give is that it’s like deep-fried gravy. Like, you bite into the breading and it’s just thick beef gravy inside. Super strange, but very good.
I neglected to mention the Holocaust history of Amsterdam yesterday. I chose this location because I wanted to visit Anne Frank’s house, which unfortunately isn’t going to happen. However, the city still has a lot of history. It was a major hub for the Gestapo to arrest Jews and ship them off to camps. At some point, the city decided to honor the victims by placing golden bricks in the sidewalks where Jews were arrested. It’s a subtle way to remind us of the tragedy of the past. It also makes me far more aware of the scale of the Holocaust than I’ve ever felt before. 6 million dead sounds terrible, but it doesn’t feel much different than saying 6,000 dead. I can’t picture either number because it’s too big. Does that make sense? But to walk around this city and see gold bricks every couple of buildings, that seems huge to me. I’ve probably only seen a hundred bricks or so, but it feels like they never stop. It’s awful. I’m grateful to have this new experience though.
Travel day
Tomorrow is just a travel day. Nothing exciting. I’m headed to Arlon, Belgium, which is situated somewhat close to the things I want to do this weekend. I got a blister on my heel in the last 24 hours, so I’m going to try to take it easy tomorrow. Not sure how that could happen now and not two weeks ago, but I sure don’t want to deal with it for the next three weeks.
Oh! And stroopwafels here are great. That is all. Here are some geese.
