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'{{short description|WWII aerial bombardment of Rotterdam by Nazi Germany}} {{Infobox military conflict | conflict = The Rotterdam Blitz | partof = the [[Battle of the Netherlands|German invasion of the Netherlands]] | image = Rotterdam, Laurenskerk, na bombardement van mei 1940.jpg | image_size = 300 | caption = Rotterdam's city centre after the bombing. The heavily damaged (now restored) ''[[Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk|St. Lawrence church]]'' stands out as the only remaining building that is reminiscent of Rotterdam's [[medieval architecture]]. The photo was taken after the removal of all debris. | date = 14 May 1940 | time = 16:20 | timezone = MET – 1h 40m | place = [[Rotterdam]] | coordinates = {{Coord|51|57|51.95|N|4|27|4.45|E|region:NL_type:event|display=inline,title}} | result = German victory Capitulation of the Netherlands *884 civilian casualties *Destruction of the city centre |territory = | combatant1 = {{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[Netherlands]] | combatant2 = {{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] | commander1 = [[P. W. Scharroo]] | commander2 = [[Albert Kesselring]] | units1= ''Luchtvaartafdeling'' (LVA)<br>''Marine Luchtvaartdienst'' (MLD) | units2= ''[[Luftflotte 2]]'' | strength1= No remaining operational fighter aircraft<ref>De luchtverdediging mei 1940, by F.J. Molenaar. The Hague, 1970.</ref> | strength2= 80 aircraft directly involved<br>700 involved in concurrent operations | casualties1 = 1,150 killed, including 210 soldiers<ref name="OfficialList" /><br>LVA and MLD virtually destroyed{{sfn|Hooton|2007|p=79}} | casualties2 = 125<ref name="OfficialList" /> }} {{Campaignbox Battle of the Netherlands}} {{Campaignbox Western Front (World War II)}} [[Rotterdam]] was subjected to heavy [[aerial bombing of cities|aerial bombardment]] by the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' during the [[Battle of the Netherlands|German invasion of the Netherlands]] during the [[Second World War]]. The objective was to support the German troops fighting in the city, break Dutch resistance and force the Dutch army to surrender. Bombing began at the outset of hostilities on 10 May and culminated with the destruction of the entire historic city centre on 14 May,<ref name="OfficialList">{{cite web |url=https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2022/04/first-official-list-of-victims-of-rotterdam-bombing-published-after-82-years/ |title=First official list of victims of Rotterdam bombing published after 82 years |work=DutchNews.nl |date=12 April 2022 |access-date=12 April 2022 }}</ref> an event sometimes referred to as the '''Rotterdam Blitz'''. According to an official list published in 2022, at least 1,150 people were killed, with 711 deaths in the 14 May bombing alone,<ref name="OfficialList" /> and 85,000 more were left homeless. The psychological and the physical success of the raid, from the German perspective, led the ''[[Oberkommando der Luftwaffe]]'' (OKL) to threaten to destroy the city of [[Utrecht]] if the Dutch command did not surrender. The Dutch surrendered in the late afternoon of 14 May and signed the capitulation early the next morning.{{sfn|Hooton|2007|p=52}} Rotterdam was one of the few major [[Allies of World War II|Allied cities]] which were virtually totally destroyed, together with [[Warsaw]], [[Manila]], [[Southampton]], and [[Milan]]. This is one of the primary reasons Rotterdam has a heavy presence of [[skyscrapers]], as do the other cities listed, compared to [[Amsterdam]], [[Krakow]], and [[Rome]] in those same countries all of which have over one million residents but retain an ancient city centre. ==Prelude== The strategic location of the [[Netherlands]] between the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] made it ideal for the basing of German air and naval forces to be used in attacks on the [[British Isles]]. The Netherlands had firmly opted for neutrality throughout the [[First World War]] and had planned to do the same during the [[Second World War]]. It had refused armaments from [[French Third Republic|France]] and made the case that it wanted no association with either side. Armament production was slightly increased after the [[Operation Weserübung|German invasion of Denmark]] in April 1940, but the Netherlands had only 35 modern wheeled [[armoured fighting vehicle]]s, five tracked armoured fighting vehicles, 135 aircraft, and 280,000 soldiers,{{sfn|Goossens|2011|loc=[http://www.waroverholland.nl/index.php?page=dutch-army-organisation Dutch army unit organisation]}} and Germany committed 159 tanks,<ref name=Goossens-GStrenth/> 1,200 modern aircraft,{{citation needed|date=January 2013}} and around 150,000 soldiers to the Dutch theatre alone.<ref name=Goossens-GStrenth>{{harvnb|Goossens|2011|loc=[http://www.waroverholland.nl/index.php?page=german-strategy-10-may-1940 German strategy 10 May 1940: German invasion army strength]}}</ref> With a significant military advantage, the German leadership intended to expedite the conquest of the country by first taking control of key military and strategic targets, such as airfields, bridges, and roads, and then using them to gain control of the remainder of the country. The first German plans to invade the Netherlands were articulated on 9 October 1939, when Hitler ordered, "Preparations should be made for offensive action on the northern flank of the [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]] crossing the area of [[Luxembourg]], [[Belgium]], and the Netherlands." The attack was to be carried out as quickly and as forcefully as possible.{{sfn|The Nizkor Project|1991|p=766}} Hitler ordered German intelligence officers to capture [[Dutch Army]] uniforms and to use them to gain detailed information on Dutch defensive preparations.{{sfn|Foot|1990|p={{page needed|date=January 2013}}}} The ''[[Wehrmacht]]'' launched [[German invasion of the Netherlands|its invasion of the Netherlands]] in the early hours of 10 May 1940. The attack started with the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' crossing through Dutch airspace and giving the impression that Britain was the ultimate target. Instead, the aircraft turned around over the [[North Sea]] and returned to attack from the west and drop paratroopers at [[Valkenburg Naval Air Base|Valkenburg]] and [[Ockenburg]] Airfields, near the seat of government and [[Noordeinde Palace|Royal Palace]] in [[the Hague]], starting the [[Battle for the Hague]]. Germany had planned to take control swiftly by using that strategy, but the assault on The Hague failed. However, bridges were taken at Moerdijk, Dordrecht and Rotterdam, which allowed armoured forces to enter the core region of "[[Fortress Holland]]" on 13 May. ==Battle for Rotterdam== [[File:James Webb Vedute von Rotterdam.jpg|thumb|A painting of Rotterdam in 1895]] The situation in Rotterdam on the morning of 13 May 1940 was a [[stalemate]] as it had been over the previous three days. Dutch garrison forces under [[P. W. Scharroo|Colonel P.W. Scharroo]] held the north bank of the [[Nieuwe Maas]] river, which runs through the city and prevented the Germans from crossing; German forces included airlanding and airborne forces of General [[Kurt Student]] and newly-arrived ground forces under [[Rudolf Schmidt|General Schmidt]], based on the [[German 9th Panzer Division|9th ''Panzer'' Division]] and the ''[[Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler]]'', a motorized [[Waffen SS|SS]] regiment. A portion of the 16th Air Landing Regiment that had landed outside the city had managed to fight their way into the city and capture key bridges, but they were soon surrounded and in danger of being overrun by Dutch attacks on their pocket. Outnumbered, with their numbers being reduced by casualties and ammunition running out, things were becoming desperate for the surrounded German paratroops. A Dutch counterattack led by a [[Netherlands Marine Corps|Dutch marine]] company had failed to recapture the [[Willemsbrug]] traffic bridge,<ref>{{harvnb|Brongers|2004|loc=(ONR Part III), p. 83}}</ref>{{sfn|Amersfoort|2005|p=364}} the key crossing. Several efforts by the [[Royal Netherlands Air Force|Dutch Army Aviation Brigade]] to destroy the bridge also failed.<ref>{{harvnb|Brongers|2004|loc=(ONR Part I), pp. 242,243}}</ref> [[File:Rotterdam 1905.jpg|thumb|The area north of the Maas ([[Meuse]]) was destroyed during the bombing, shown here on an old 1905 map]] General Schmidt had planned a combined assault the next day, 14 May, using tanks of the 9th ''Panzer'' supported by [[flame thrower]]s, SS troops and [[military engineer|combat engineer]]s.<ref>{{harvnb|Brongers|2004|loc=(ONR Part III), pp. 204, 205}}</ref>{{sfn|Amersfoort|2005|p=367}}{{sfn|Pauw|2006|p=75}}{{sfn|Götzel|1980|p=145}} The airlanding troops were to make an [[amphibious warfare|amphibious]] crossing of the river upstream and then a flank attack through the [[Kralingen-Crooswijk|Kralingen]] district.{{sfn|Götzel|1980|p={{Page needed|date=September 2010}} }}<ref>Kriegstagebuch, KTB IR.16, 22.ID BA/MA</ref> The attack was to be preceded by artillery bombardment, while Gen. Schmidt had requested the support of the ''Luftwaffe'' in the form of a ''Gruppe'' (about 25 aircraft) of [[Junkers Ju 87]] dive-bombers, specifically for a precision raid.<ref>{{harvnb|Brongers|2004|loc=(ONR Part III), p. 201}}</ref>{{sfn|Amersfoort|2005|p=368}}{{sfn|Götzel|1980|pp=146, 147}} Schmidt's request for air support reached the staff of ''Luftflotte'' 2 in Berlin. Instead of precision bombers, Schmidt got [[carpet bombing]] by [[Heinkel He 111]] bombers besides a ''Gruppe'' of [[Stuka]]s focussing on some strategic targets. The carpet bombing had been ordered by [[Hermann Göring]], to force a Dutch national capitulation.<ref>{{harvnb|Goossens|2011|loc=[http://www.waroverholland.nl/index.php?page=rotterdam-3 Rotterdam: Introduction – a recapitulation]}}; {{harvnb|Brongers|2004|loc=(ONR Part III), p. 232}}; {{harvnb|Amersfoort|2005|pp=368,369}};{{harvnb|Pauw|2006|p=74}}; {{harvnb|Götzel|1980|pp=146–151}}; {{harvnb|Lackner|1954|p={{page needed|date=January 2013}} {{Full citation needed|date=September 2014}}<!--ReferenceA-->}}</ref> ==Bombing== [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 141-1114, Rotterdam, Luftaufnahme von Bränden.jpg|thumb|Rotterdam's burning city centre after the bombing.]] [[File:Het verwoeste Hang met de Steigersgracht en Sint-Laurenskerk 1940.jpg|thumb|Rotterdam's city centre after the bombing in 1940. The heavily damaged (now restored) ''[[Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk|St. Lawrence church]]'' stands out as the only remaining building that is reminiscent of Rotterdam's [[medieval architecture]]. (Agfacolor)]] [[File:Bijenkorf Rotterdam 1930.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of the Coolsingel with the famous [[De Bijenkorf|Bijenkorf department store]] – architect [[Willem Dudok]] – partly destroyed during the bombing and demolished in 1960]] The bombing was initially scheduled for 13 May but the Germans were unable to carry out the operation because of low clouds. Instead, they were to bomb the city on the following day.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hooton |first=E. R. |title=Phoenix triumphant: the rise and rise of the Luftwaffe |date=1996 |publisher=Arms and Armour Press |isbn=1-85409-331-2 |edition=New |pages=249 |oclc=60274266}}</ref> At roughly 10:30 on 14 May [[Rudolf Schmidt|General Rudolf Schmidt]] issued an ultimatum to the Dutch commander, [[P. W. Scharroo|Colonel Scharroo]]:<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |author=Allert M.A. Goossens |title=Rotterdam |url=http://www.waroverholland.nl/index.php?page=rotterdam-4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031101505/http://www.waroverholland.nl/index.php?page=rotterdam-4 |archive-date=2020-10-31 |url-status=live |website=War Over Holland}}</ref><blockquote>To the Commander of Rotterdam To the Mayor and aldermen and the Governmental Authorities of Rotterdam The continuing opposition to the offensive of German troops in the open city of Rotterdam forces me to take appropriate measures should this resistance not be ceased immediately. This may well result in the complete destruction of the city. I petition you - as a man of responsibility - to endeavour everything within your powers to prevent the town of having to bear such a huge price. As a token of agreement I request you to send us an authorised negotiator by return. Should within two hours after the hand-over of this ultimatum no official reply be received, I will be forced to execute the most extreme measures of destruction. The commander of the German troops.</blockquote>The Mayor of Rotterdam, [[Pieter Oud]] consulted with his aldermen and concluded that there was simply not enough time to evacuate the city within the two hour period the Germans had set.<ref name=":0" /> Mayor Oud pleaded with Scharroo to surrender.<ref name=":0" /> However, Scharroo was not happy with the integrity of the letter as it had not been signed by anyone on the German side; therefore, he refused to seriously consider the surrender.<ref name=":0" /> He replied asking for further details:<ref name=":0" /><blockquote>To the commander of the German troops. I am in receipt of your letter. Subject letter has not been duly signed and did not mention name and rank of its originator. Prior to seriously considering your proposal, the letter should be duly signed and mention your name and rank. Colonel, commander of the Dutch troops in Rotterdam, P.W. Scharroo</blockquote>On receipt of Scharroo's letter, Schmidt sent a telegram to the 2nd ''Luftflotte'' (responsible for the air raid) stating:<ref name=":0" /><blockquote>Airstrike postponed due to ongoing negotiations. Return to stand-by status.</blockquote>That was received by the 2nd ''Luftflotte'' at 12:42, but the message was not given to the bombers. As Schmidt was handing over his second signed ultimatum to the Dutch negotiators, the sound of aircraft engines was heard overhead.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Shirer |first=William L. |title=The rise and fall of the Third Reich |date=1960 |isbn=0-671-62420-2 |location=New York |page=867 |oclc=1286630}}</ref> Schmidt was shocked;<ref name=":1" /> however, it had also been arranged that red flares were to be shot into the sky by the Wehrmacht if the negotiations had begun.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Hooton |first=E. R. |title=Phoenix triumphant : the rise and rise of the Luftwaffe |date=1996 |publisher=Arms and Armour Press |isbn=1-85409-331-2 |edition=New |pages=249 |oclc=60274266}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Macksey |first=Kenneth |title=Kesselring |date=2004 |publisher=Bellona |author2=Zenon Miernicki |isbn=83-11-09743-7 |location=Warsaw |chapter=The Nemesis of Incomprehension |oclc=749589540}}</ref> If the bombers saw the red flares, they would know to turn back. However, there were two groups of bombers flying towards the city. One group - the larger of the two - had 54 [[Heinkel He 111]]s flying in from the northeast, while the smaller group (36 He-111s) was flying in from the south.<ref name=":0" /> As the Germans had captured only the southern parts of the city, there were no flares fired in the north. In addition, there was a large smoke cloud obscuring the southern part of the city, which made it harder to see the flares. The smaller group saw the flares and most of their planes turned back, and the larger group never saw the flares and proceeded to destroy the city.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> General Schmidt exclaimed, "My God, this is a catastrophe!"<ref name=":0" /> In total, 1,150 50-kilogram (110 lb) and 158 250-kilogram (550 lb) bombs were dropped on the city, mainly in the residential areas of [[Kralingen]] and the medieval city centre. Most of them struck buildings, which immediately went up in flames. The fires across the city centre spread uncontrollably and, in the subsequent days, were aggravated as the wind grew stronger; they merged to become a [[firestorm]]. Reports stated that 900 people had reported been killed, and {{convert|642|acre|km2}} of the city centre had been destroyed.<ref name="NGeo" /> 24,978 homes,<ref name="NGeo">{{cite journal |author1=Helen Hill Miller |title=Rotterdam - Reborn from Ruins |journal=[[National Geographic]] |date=October 1960 |volume=118 |issue=4 |pages=526–553}}</ref> 24 churches, 2,320 stores, 775 warehouses and 62 schools were destroyed. Schmidt sent a conciliatory message to the Dutch commander General [[Henri Winkelman|Winkelman]], who surrendered shortly afterwards at [[Rijsoord]], a village southeast of Rotterdam. The school where the Dutch capitulated was later turned into a small museum. == Responsibility == The telegraphed message from Schmidt to halt the bombers and put them on standby was confirmed as received by the 2nd ''Luftflotte'' at 12:42.<ref name=":0" /> The commander of ''Luftflotte 2'', Field Marshal [[Albert Kesselring]] was interviewed about the event during the [[Nuremberg Trials]] by [[Leon Goldensohn]], who recalled:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goldensohn |first=Leon |title=The Nuremberg interviews : an American psychiatrist's conversations with the defendants and witnesses |date=2005 |publisher=Vintage Books |others=Robert Gellately |isbn=1-4000-3043-9 |edition=1st |location=New York |page=326 |oclc=69671719}}</ref><blockquote>Kesselring admitted that the conditions were such that an attack could have been called off, but still clung, rather unreasonably, to the idea that it was tactically indicated because he had been ordered to do so, and he was not a politician but a soldier</blockquote>Kesselring stated that he had not known about the capitulation, but that is contradicted by the evidence that his headquarters had received the message at 12:42, roughly 40 minutes before the bombs started to fall. Yet, at Nuremberg, both Göring and Kesselring of the Luftwaffe defended the bombing on the grounds that Rotterdam had been not an open city but one stoutly defended by the Dutch.<ref name=":1" /> In his memoirs, written while he was in prison for war crimes, Kesselring gave his account:<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Kesselring |first=Albert |title=The memoirs of Field-Marshal Kesselring |date=2015 |isbn=978-0-7509-6434-0 |location=Stroud |page=56 |oclc=994630181}}</ref><blockquote>On the morning of 13 May, Student kept calling for bomber support against enemy strongpoints inside Rotterdam and the point of main effort at the bridges where the parachutists were held up. At 14:00 hours the sortie in question was flown, and its success finally led to the capitulation of Holland on 14 May 1940</blockquote>[[Kurt Student|General Student]] requested only strikes against enemy strongpoints, not carpet-bombing of the city.<ref name=":4" /> Kesselring also states in his memoirs that he spent hours in heated argument with Göring on how the attacks were to be carried out, if at all.<ref name=":4" /> The arguments happened before the bombers took off and so that cannot be used as an excuse for why he did not get in contact with the bombers. The fact was that he had already admitted at Nuremberg that he was for the attack since he wanted 'to present a firm attitude and secure an immediate peace' or take 'severe measures'. Kesselring further states:<ref name=":4" /><blockquote>As a result I repeatedly warned the bomber wing-commander to pay particular attention to the flares and signals displayed in the battle area and to keep in constant wireless contact with the Air-landing Group.</blockquote>With that in mind, it is unlikely that the bombers would have reeled in their antennas until a few minutes before releasing their bombs. The argument that the antennas were reeled in is contradicted also by the fact that Kesselring quotes ''Oberst'' Lӓckner (the commander of the bombers) in his memoirs:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kesselring |first=Albert |title=The memoirs of Field-Marshal Kesselring |date=2015 |isbn=978-0-7509-6434-0 |location=Stroud |pages=56–58 |oclc=994630181}}</ref><blockquote>Shortly before the take-off a message came through from Air command saying that Student had called upon Rotterdam to surrender and ordering us to attack an alternative target in case Rotterdam should have surrendered in the meantime (during the approach flight) ― ''Oberst'' Lӓckner</blockquote>That invalidates the argument that the bombers had reeled in their antennas because the bombers had not taken off. That indicates that Kesselring must have made the decision to attack Rotterdam regardless of the negotiations.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} ==Aftermath== [[File:Zadkine II rb.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''[[De Verwoeste Stad]]'', (The Destroyed City), sculpture in Rotterdam by [[Ossip Zadkine]]]] The Dutch military had no effective means of stopping the bombers (the [[Dutch Air Force]] had practically ceased to exist, and its anti-aircraft guns had been moved to The Hague), so when a similar ultimatum was given in which the Germans threatened to bomb the city of [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]], the Dutch supreme command decided to capitulate in the late afternoon, rather than risk the destruction of another city.{{sfn|Brongers|2004|loc=(ONR Part III), p. 263}}{{sfn|Amersfoort|2005|p=183}} Through [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] and international news media, Dutch and British sources informed the public that the raid on Rotterdam had been on an [[open city]] in which 30,000 civilians were killed (the real number of civilians who were killed was around 900) "and character[ised] the German demolition of the old city as an act of unmitigated barbarism."<ref>{{harvnb|Hinchcliffe|2001|p=43}}; {{harvnb|DeBruhl|2010|pp=90–91}} and {{harvnb|Grayling|2006|page=35}} for the quote.</ref> The number of casualties was relatively small, because thousands of civilians had either fled to safer parts of Rotterdam, or they had fled to other cities, during the previous four days of bombing and warfare.{{sfn|Wagenaar|1970|pp=75–303}} The German weekly ''Die Mühle'' (''The Windmill'') stated that the Dutch government was to blame for turning Rotterdam into a fortress, despite multiple summons to evacuate. It also claimed that the old city was ignited by Dutch bombs and incendiary devices.<ref>''Die Mühle'', no.22, 31 May 1940, Moritz Schäfer Verlag, Leipzig</ref> The United Kingdom had followed a policy of only bombing military targets and [[infrastructure]], such as ports and railways, because it considered them militarily important.{{sfn|Hastings|1999|pp=54–56}} While the British government acknowledged the fact that the bombing of Germany would cause civilian casualties, it renounced the deliberate bombing of civilian property outside combat zones, which, after the fall of [[Poland]], meant German areas which were located east of the [[Rhine]], as a military tactic. That policy was abandoned on 15 May 1940, one day after the Rotterdam Blitz, when the [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] was directed to attack targets which were located in the [[Ruhr Area|Ruhr]], including oil plants and other civilian [[industrial sector|industrial]] targets that aided the German war effort, such as [[blast furnace]]s that were self-illuminating at night. The [[Strategic bombing during World War II#Allied response|first RAF raid on the interior of Germany]] took place on the night of 15/16 May 1940.{{sfn|Grayling|2006|pp=23–24}}{{sfn|Taylor|2005|loc=Chapter "Call Me Meier", p. 111}} [[File:HerdenkingVuurgrensRotterdam1940 2007 edit1.jpg|right|thumb|Lights along the fire line memorialize the bombing of Rotterdam, 14 May 2007]] {{blockquote|When the invasion of Holland took place I was recalled from leave and went on my first operation on 15 May 1940 against mainland Germany. Our target was Dortmund and on the way back we were routed via Rotterdam. The German Air Force had bombed Rotterdam the day before and it was still in flames. I realised then only too well that the phoney war was over and that this was for real. By that time the fire services had extinguished a number of fires, but they were still dotted around the whole city. This was the first time I'd ever seen devastation by fires on this scale. We went right over the southern outskirts of Rotterdam at about 6,000 or 7,000 feet, and you could actually smell the smoke from the fires burning on the ground. I was shocked seeing a city in flames like that. Devastation on a scale I had never experienced.|Air Commodore Wilf Burnett.{{sfn|Burnett|2008}} }} {{space}} ==Reconstruction== [[File:Rotterdam RG373 AERIALFILM D6000 ON215228 US7GR 3283 4017 01.jpg|thumb|Aerial photo of the damaged area of Rotterdam taken in September, 1944]] {{blockquote|Now the biggest bank structure in Europe rears its rounded, balloon-hanger bulk out of the bomb made desert. This is the new home of the Rotterdamsche Bank. Behind its grilled windows flows the golden blood of commerce. Half a mile away, the cement spattered wooden forms of a huge, new wholesale mart climb to knobby squares above the flat sands. Wholesalers already do business on the ground floor while fresh concrete flows into the forms two floors higher. Along the waterfront, a couple of miles down the New Meuse (nieuwe Maas) river, cranes lever the bales and boxes of an industrial world in and out of the new warehouses.|''Cairns Post'' newspaper article, 1950.{{sfn|''Cairns Post''|1950}} }} The extent of the damage from the bombardment and the resulting fire caused an almost immediate decision to demolish the entire city centre with the exception of the [[Laurenskerk]] church, the [[De Noord (Rotterdam)|De Noord]] mill, the [[Beurs-World Trade Center|Beurs trade centre]], the [[Rotterdam city hall]] ([[:nl:Stadhuis van Rotterdam]]) and the [[Rotterdam old central post office]] ([[:nl:Hoofdpostkantoor (Rotterdam)]]).<ref name="NGeo" />{{sfn|Christiaanse|2012|pp=7–17}} Despite the disaster, the city's destruction was regarded as the perfect opportunity to redress many of the problems of industrial pre-war Rotterdam, such as crowded, impoverished neighborhoods,{{sfn|Meyer|1999|pp=309–328}} and to introduce broad-scale, modernising changes in the urban fabric, which had previously been too radical in the built-up city.{{sfn|Diefendorf|1990|pp=1–16}} There seemed to be no thought of nostalgically rebuilding the old city,{{sfn|Cairns Post|1950}} as it would be at the expense of a more modern future.{{sfn|Taverne|1990|pp=145–155}} That ran counter to the decision taken in other European cities destroyed during the war, such as [[Warsaw]], for which the Polish government spent considerable resources on reconstructing historical buildings and quarters and restoring them to their prewar appearance. W.G. Witteveen, director of the Port Authority, was instructed to draw up plans for the reconstruction within four days of the bombing,{{sfn|Runyon|1969}} and presented his plan to the city council in less than a month.<ref name="NGeo" />{{sfn|Meyer|1999|pp=309–328}} The first plan essentially used most of the old city's structure and layout, but it integrated them into a new plan with widened streets and sidewalks.{{sfn|Christiaanse|2012|pp=7–17}}{{sfn|Runyon|1969}} The largest and most controversial change in the layout was to move the main dike of the city alongside the riverbank, so as to protect the low-lying [[Waterstad]] area from flooding.{{sfn|Meyer|1999|pp=309–328}} That was met with criticism from the newly-formed Inner Circle of the Rotterdam Club, which promoted integrating the city with the Maas ([[Meuse]]), and claimed that the dike would create a marked separation from it.{{sfn|Meyer|1999|pp=309–328}} A number of new or previously-incomplete projects, such as the [[Maastunnel]] and [[Rotterdamsche bank]], were to be completed in accordance with Witteveen's plan, and the projects kept the Dutch people in work during the German occupation of the city until all construction was halted in 1942.<ref name="NGeo" />{{sfn|Runyon|1969}} [[Herman van der Horst]]'s 1952 documentary ''[[Houen zo!]]'' presents a vision of some of the projects.{{sfn|Horst|1952}} Meanwhile, Witteveen's successor [[Cornelius van Traa]] drafted a completely new reconstruction plan, the ''[[Basisplan voor de Herbouw van de Binnenstad]]'', which was adopted in 1946.{{sfn|Christiaanse|2012|pp=7–17}}{{sfn|Meyer|1999|pp=309–328}} Van Traa's plan was a much more radical rebuild, doing away with the old layout and replacing them with a collection of principles rather than such a rigid structural design.{{sfn|Runyon|1969}} The ''Basisplan'' placed a high emphasis on broad open spaces and promoted the river's special integration with the city through two significant elements: the [[Maas Boulevard]], which reimagined the newly—moved dike as a tree-lined street 80 wide, and the Window to the River, a visual corridor running from the harbour to the centre of the city.{{sfn|Meyer|1999|pp=309–328}} Both were meant to show the workings of the harbour to the city's people. Because reconstruction work began so rapidly after the bombing,the city had again by 1950 retained its reputation as the fastest loading and unloading harbour in the world.{{sfn|''Nambour Chronicle and North Coast Advertiser''|1950}} Around the same time, the city centre of Rotterdam had shifted north-west as a result of temporary shopping centres, which had been set up on the edge of the devastated city,{{sfn|Meyer|1999|pp=309–328}} and new shopping centre projects like the [[Lijnbaan]] were expressing the radical new concepts of the ''Basisplan'', through low, wide open streets set beside tall slab-like buildings.{{sfn|Taverne|1990|pp=145–155}} Rotterdam's urban form was more American than other Dutch cities, based on US plans,{{sfn|Taverne|1990|pp=145–155}} with a large collection of high-rise elements{{sfn|Christiaanse|2012|pp=7–17}} and the Maas boulevard and Window to the River functioning primarily as conduits for motor vehicles.{{sfn|Meyer|1999|pp=309–328}} In later years, Rotterdam architect [[Kees Christiaanse]] wrote: {{blockquote|Rotterdam did indeed resemble an American provincial city. You could drive leisurely in a big car through the broad streets and revel in the contrasts between emptiness and density. The Rotterdam police drove around in huge Chevrolets...and the Witte Huis was the first high-rise building in Europe with a Chicago-type steel skeleton and a ceramic façade.|Kees Christiaanse, Rotterdam.{{sfn|Christiaanse|2012|pp=19}} }} The larger-scale 'wholesale-quantity' approach was equally used for hospitals and parks (such as [[Dijkzigt Hospital]] and [[Zuider Park]]) as retail centres,{{sfn|Runyon|1969}} but close attention was still paid to creating human-scale walkable promenades, especially that of the Lijnbaan, which presented broad sunny walkways for shoppers and spectators, and tried new retail techniques such as open glass walls to blend interior and exterior.{{sfn|Taverne|1990|pp=145–155}} While urban reconstruction can be fraught with complexity and conflict,{{sfn|Diefendorf|1990|pp=1–16}} Rotterdam's status as a 'working' harbour city meant it did not receive the same resistance to rebuilding as a cultural or political centre (as [[Amsterdam]] or [[The Hague]]) might have.{{sfn|Runyon|1969}} However, there was still significant movement of people away from the city centre during Rotterdam's reconstruction to purpose-built neighbourhoods such as [[De Horsten]] and [[Hoogvliet]], which are now inhabited by mainly lower-income households.{{sfn|Kleinhans|Priemus|Engbersen|2007|pp=1069–1091}} Today, van Traa's ''Basisplan'' has been almost completely replaced with newer projects. For example, The [[Maritime Museum Rotterdam|Maritime Museum]] blocks the Window to the River, and [[Piet Blom]]'s [[Cube Houses]] create another barrier between the city and the river, where in the Basisplan there was to be a connection between them.{{sfn|Christiaanse|2012|pp=7–17}} The [[Euromast]] Tower, which was built in 1960, is a related attempt to create a visual link between the city and the port, seemingly one of the last architectural structures that is related to van Traa's ''Basisplan''{{sfn|Meyer|1999|pp=309–328}} before later attempts like the Boompjes Boulevard in 1991.{{sfn|Christiaanse|2012|pp=46}} ==See also== * [[Allied bombing of Rotterdam]] *[[List of World War II military aircraft of Germany]] *[[List of Dutch military equipment of World War II]] ==Notes== {{reflist|30em}} ==References== *{{Citation |last=Amersfoort |first=H |year=2005 |title=Mei 1940 – Strijd op Nederlands grondgebied|language=nl |publisher=SDU |isbn=90-12-08959-X|display-authors=etal}} *{{Citation |last=Brongers |first=E.H. |year=2004 |title=Opmars naar Rotterdam |language=nl |publisher=Aspect |isbn=90-5911-269-5}} *{{Citation |last=Burnett |first=Wilf |date=7 October 2008 |chapter-url=http://www.rafbombercommand.com/personals_1_earlydays.html#stories_earlydays.html |chapter=Flying over Rotterdam |title=Early Days, Personal Stories |publisher=Bomber Command Association|access-date=16 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160121184458/http://www.rafbombercommand.com/personals_1_earlydays.html#wb_2_flyingoverrotterdam|archive-date=21 January 2016|url-status=dead}} *{{Citation |ref={{sfnRef|Cairns Post|1950}} |date=2 March 1950 |title=Rotterdam Rises Again |page=2 |newspaper=Cairns Post |location=Queensland, Australia}} *{{Citation |last=Christiaanse |first=Kees |year=2012 |title=Rotterdam |location=Rotterdam |publisher=010 Publishers |isbn=978-90-6450-772-4}} *{{Citation |last=DeBruhl |first=Marshall |year=2010 |title=Firestorm: Allied Airpower and the Destruction of Dresden |edition=unabridged |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=9780307769619 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=oovAYO20OFgC&pg=PA90 90]–91}} *{{Citation |last=Diefendorf |first=Jeffry M. |year=1990 |title=Rebuilding Europe's bombed cities. |location=Basingstoke |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=0-333-47443-0}} *{{Citation |last=Foot |first=M.R.D. |author-link= M. 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(Gen-Lt) |year=1954 |title=Bericht Einsatz des KG.54 auf Rotterdam |language=de |publisher=Bundesarchiv Militärarchiv |location=Freiburg}} *{{Citation |last=Meyer |first=Han |year=1999 |title=City and port : urban planning as a cultural venture in London, Barcelona, New York, and Rotterdam : changing relations between public urban space and large-scale infrastructure. |location=Utrecht |publisher=International Books |isbn=90-5727-020-X}} *{{Citation |ref={{SfnRef|Nambour Chronicle and North Coast Advertiser|1950}} |date=17 November 1950 |title=Rotterdam Raised From Ruins |page=2 |newspaper=Nambour Chronicle and North Coast Advertiser |location=Queensland, Australia}} *{{Citation |author=Nederlands Omroep Stichting (NOS) |date=10 December 2008 |title=Veel meer gewonden in mei 1940. |language=nl |url=http://www.nos.nl/nos/artikelen/2008/12/art000001C95AA93EFBCDEC.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303161200/http://nos.nl/nos/artikelen/2008/12/art000001C95AA93EFBCDEC.html |archive-date=3 March 2009 }} *{{Citation |last=Pauw |first=J.L. van der |year=2006 |title=Rotterdam in de Tweede Wereldoorlog |language=nl|publisher=Uitgeverij Boom |isbn=90-8506-160-1}} *{{Citation |author=The Nizkor Project |chapter=Chapter IX: Aggression Against Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg (Part 3 of 6). |title=Nazi Conspiracy & Aggression |year=1991 |volume=I |chapter-url=http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/imt/nca/nca-01/nca-01-09-aggression-10-03.html |pages=766–768 |access-date=14 January 2013 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305005557/http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/imt/nca/nca-01/nca-01-09-aggression-10-03.html |url-status=dead }} *{{Citation |last=Runyon |first=David |year=1969 |title=An analysis of the rebuilding of Rotterdam after the bombing on May 14, 1940. |publisher=University of Wisconsin}} *{{Citation |last1=Roep |first1=Thom |last2=Loerakker |first2=Co |year=1999 |title=Van Nul to Nu Deel 3-De vaderlandse geschiedenis van 1815 tot 1940 |language=nl|page=42 square 2 |isbn=90-5425-098-4}} *{{Citation |last=Speidel |first=Wilhelm (General der Flieger) |year=1958 |title=The campaign in Western-Europe 1939-1940 |chapter=Chief of Staff Luftflotte 2 Western theatre January–October 1940 (K113-107-152) |publisher=Washington archives |chapter-url=http://airforcehistoryindex.org/data/000/468/151.xml}} *{{Citation |last=Taverne |first=E.R.M. |year=1990 |title=The Lijnbaan (Rotterdam): a Prototype of a Postwar Urban Shopping Centre, in Rebuilding Europe's bombed cities, J.M. Diefendorf, Editor. |location=Basingstoke |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=0-333-47443-0}} *{{Citation |last=Taylor |first=Frederick |year=2005 |title=Dresden: Tuesday, 13 February 1945 |location=London |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=0-7475-7084-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_b8e7 }} *{{Citation |last=Wagenaar |first=Aad |year=1970 |title=Rotterdam mei '40: De slag, de bommen, de brand |language=nl |location=Amsterdam |publisher=De Arbeiderspers |isbn=90-204-1961-7}} ==Further reading== * [http://mimetype.ir.rotterdam.nl/brandgrens.kmz Google Earth overlay of the area destroyed in the Blitz] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808073335/http://mimetype.ir.rotterdam.nl/brandgrens.kmz |date=8 August 2007 }} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20150414194530/http://www.liskwartier.org/2011/05/25/rotterdam-blitz-may-days-and-bombardment-rotterdam-netherlands-with-timeline/ Rotterdam Blitz with timeline] *Spaight. James M. [https://archive.org/details/BombingVindicated''"Bombing Vindicated"''] G. Bles, 1944. {{OCLC|1201928}} (Spaight was Principal Assistant Secretary of the Air Ministry (U.K)) ;Pictures * {{cite web|url=http://appl.gemeentearchief.rotterdam.nl/rotterdamtweedewereldoorlog/index.cfm?fuseaction=foto.showframe |title=Pictures of Rotterdam after the Blitz|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160831211711/http://appl.gemeentearchief.rotterdam.nl/rotterdamtweedewereldoorlog/index.cfm?fuseaction=foto.showframe|archive-date=2016-08-31}} * [http://www.enterthemothership.com/brandgrens_en Pictures of the 2007 and 2008 commemoration by Mothership art producers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519234611/http://www.enterthemothership.com/brandgrens_en/ |date=19 May 2009 }} {{WWII city bombing}}{{Authority control}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}} [[Category:1940 in the Netherlands]] [[Category:Aerial operations and battles of World War II by town or city|Rotterdam]] [[Category:History of South Holland|Rotterdam]] [[Category:Germany–Netherlands military relations]] [[Category:History of Rotterdam|Blitz]] [[Category:Netherlands in World War II]] [[Category:World War II strategic bombing conducted by Germany|Rotterdam]] [[Category:World War II strategic bombing of the Netherlands|Rotterdam]]'