Articles - TracesOfWar.com

Specials

Article by Peter ter Haar
Published on February 12th, 2014

Battles for Overloon and Venray

Article by Kevin Prenger
Published on January 19th, 2017

Martin Sandberger

Article by Wilco Vermeer
Published on June 22nd, 2023

Operation Infatuate: Inundation of Walcheren, October 1944

Article by Jan-Jaap van den Berg
Published on September 15th, 2024

From Incarceration to Repatriation

Latest news

12Oct

DigitalBattlefieldTours unlocks military tactics to a wide audience

[TRANSLATED BY: Simon van der Meulen] Ivo van der Spoel is the creator of documentaries covering the military history of World War II. His YouTube channel is called DigitalBattlefieldTours. In his videos, viewers are taken to locations where actual battlefield events took place, such as Operation Market Garden. Having 65,000 subscribers and attracting up to a million viewers per video, he caters for a broad public. TracesofWar.com interviewed him through e-mail to find out more about his channel and what motivates him.

11Oct

Lily Ebert, Holocaust Survivor, Author and TikTok Star, Dies at 100

She survived Auschwitz, wrote a best-selling memoir, “Lily’s Promise,” and spoke to a following of 2 million fans on TikTok.

She was born Lívia Engelman into an Orthodox Jewish family in Bonyhád, Hungary, on December 29 1923, one of six children of Ahron, who sold textiles, and Nina, née Bresnitz. It was an idyllic childhood, she said, though her father died when she was 18.

4Oct

Commemoration 7th Battalion the Hampshire regiment

After the Battle of Arnhem was lost on September 1944, the battle south of the Rhine on 'The Island' continued. There are several monuments to the British and American units that suffered major losses. The commemoration for the 7th battalion of the Hampshire Regiment was on October 4 2024.

3Oct

Discover the story of the V-weapons

Unique exhibition 'V-weapons' in the Memory Freedom Museum in Nijverdal is open .

The Memory Freedom Museum in Nijverdal is proud to present the unique exhibition 'V-weapons', which was opened on Thursday 26 September by Mr. Peter Wijninga (on the left side of the picture), affiliated with the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS). Mr. Koen Palinckx (on the right side of the picture), District Mayor of Ekeren, City of Antwerp, also made a contribution and spoke about Antwerp under the V-bombs. For the first time in the Netherlands, this exhibition pays extensive attention to the development, use and consequences of the German V-weapons during the Second World War.

A Historical Look Back .

In the summer of 1944, the German army began deploying the dreaded V1 and V2 weapons. These flying bombs and missiles were a technical tour de force at the time, but caused many casualties and great material damage, especially in the cities of London and Antwerp. The Netherlands was not spared either; There were many casualties as a result of failed launches and premature explosions.

Hellendoorn in the spotlight .

The municipality of Hellendoorn plays a special role in this history. It is the only municipality in the Netherlands where both the V1 and V2 were launched. The first V2 was launched here on 16 November 1944, followed by the first V1 a month later. The exhibition not only shows the technical and historical aspects of these weapons, but also highlights personal stories of eyewitnesses. For example, there is an impressive scene about the espionage committed by local resistance groups, but also about Twente residents who spied in Germany in Peenemünde.

Reconstruction V1 Wilp.

A special part of this exhibition are the remains of a V1, excavated in March 2020 next to the A1 near Wilp (near Deventer). These have been incorporated into a full-size wooden reconstruction of a V1, complete with wings.

From V2 into space .

The exhibition also focuses on the post-war development of rocket technology, which built on the V2. This includes the Apollo 11 moon landing and the rise of modern drones and unmanned aircraft. In this way, the exhibition offers a complete picture of the influence of the V-weapons on both history and modern technology.

Addition to the permanent exhibition.

'V-weapons' is a valuable addition to the permanent exhibition of the Memory Freedom Museum. The museum tells the story of the Second World War, the defence of the Netherlands against the enemy, five years of occupation and oppression, and the sacrifices of foreign soldiers for our freedom. The museum invites you to reflect on your role and influence on freedom, both for yourself and for others, and what freedom means now.

Visitor information.

The exhibition 'V-weapons' is open to the public from Friday 27 September 2024 to Sunday 28 September 2025 and can be seen in the Memory Freedom Museum. The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 12:00 to 17:00 and is located at Grotestraat 13 in Nijverdal.

2Oct

Photo report interment of ashes Arnhem veterans

At the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Oosterbeek, also called the Airborne Cemetery, veterans of the Battle of Arnhem can have their ashes interred after their death. On Friday, September 20, 2024, there were solemn ceremonies in which the ashes of Bill Williams of the 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment and of Joe Mawdsley of the 1 Border Regiment were interred.

1Oct

Photo report Commemoration Glider pilots memorial Wolfheze

About half of the soldiers of the British 1st Airborne Division who fought in the Battle of Arnhem were paratroopers. The remaining men came by glider. These gliders were flown by Glider Pilots. These were well-trained soldiers who fought after the landing, including defending the perimeter in Oosterbeek. The Glider Pilots of the Battle of Arnhem suffered heavy losses. It was therefore good that a memorial for their regiment was unveiled at the Glider Landmark in Wolfheze in 2019. A commemoration was held here on Friday, September 20, 2024.

Biographies

Documentation

Military

Persecution

Society

Weapons