Liberation Route Marker 025

Netherlands, the Gelderland Wolfheze

Liberation Route Europe is a certified Cultural Route of the Council of Europe. With hundreds of sites and stories in nine European countries, the route links the main regions along the advance of the Allied Forces in 1943-1945.
The entire route consists of themed routes that can be travelled by by hiking, walking, cycling and car. These routes pass numerous historical and interesting sites and tell stories from a multitude of perspectives that were important in the final phase of World War II.
Many routes feature listening spots, offering the opportunity to listen to a historical story at a location. In addition, many ‘Vectors of Memory’ have been placed, indicating that the passer-by is on one of the Liberation Routes.
The routes can be found on the Liberation Route Europe website or in the app through which many stories can also be listened to.

Airborne landings
The meadows at Wolfheze were a good location for the allied airborne landings. The allied forces suspected that there were German troops inside the psychiatric hospital and decided to bomb it. On 17 September 1944, the local population had to suffer three devastating rounds of bombings before gliders carrying their liberators appeared on the horizon.

On Sunday morning, 17th September 1944, the Allies bombed the asylum near Wolfheze. They thought it was being used as a German barracks and destroyed numerous buildings and the surrounding village in three waves of carpet bombs. Ninety-six civilians were killed. The bombings were preparation for the 1st British Airborne Division's airlandings drop near Wolfheze that afternoon. Their task was to secure the bridge over the River Rhine in Arnhem. At one o'clock, 134 gliders landed to the north and west of the village. Some landed in the trees, others were damaged on landing, often along with the equipment they were carrying. Then the parachutists landed in the surrounding fields and set off in the direction of Arnhem as quickly as possible. The 1st Airlanding Brigade was left to defend the landing- and drop zones wich they would need the next day.The people of Wolfheze looked on in despair and surprise, still shell-shocked from the bombings earlier that day, when the parachutists and gliders started to land. A few days later, the British troops left Wolfheze for Arnhem and Oosterbeek and the village was taken back by the Germans. It was not until April 1945 that the village, destroyed and ransacked, was finally liberated.

Audiospot - Airborne landings