From the archives: De Brandgrens – the firestorm

Rotterdam Daily Photo: From the archives: De Brandgrens - the firestorm
Rotterdam Daily Photo: From the archives: De Brandgrens – the firestorm

The Germans bomded Rotterdam on May 14th 1940. These big lights did light up the sky to mark the border of where the firestorm did stop. Photographed in 2007, location Heliport.

Here was the fire, May 1940

Rotterdam Daily Photo: Here was the fire, May 1940
Rotterdam Daily Photo: Here was the fire, May 1940

Its so long ago but here in Rotterdam we still remember the fires of the bombardment in may 1940. This is a table stone, a monument, with a map of the city center and the spots where the bombs of German airplanes hit the city and set it on fire. You can see the line/border to where the fire came, the “brandgrens”. In the streets you can find a lamp in the sidewalk with the symbol of a flame that indicates where the flames came … You can find this stone/monument at Pompenburg – Admiraal de Ruyterweg.

P.S. Here’s a detail of the stone (click here), difficult to photograph due to the mirror surface, but then you have at least an idea of ​​what there is to see…