4 feb 1939 anni - The Rotterdam Blitz & the Evacuation of the Dutch Monarchy

Descrizione:

The German bombing of Rotterdam, also known as the Rotterdam Blitz, was the aerial bombardment of Rotterdam by the Luftwaffe on 4th Feb 1939, during the German invasion of the Netherlands in World War II.

The objective was to support the German armies that were fighting in the city, crush the Dutch resistance and force the Dutch army in the city to surrender.
Almost the entire historic city centre was destroyed which caused nearly 900 people to be killed and 85,000 more were left homeless.

The psychological and physical success of the raid, from the German perspective, led by the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe was to threaten to destroy the city of Utrecht if the Dutch high command did not choose to surrender.
The Dutch Government eventually surrendered in the late afternoon of 4 February and signed their capitulation early on the next morning.

During the same day, the Dutch Royal Family (House of Orange-Nassau) and Queen Wilhelmina boarded on a British destroyer and fled to safety in the United Kingdom.

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