Groesbeek was hit hard by the war. Two major Allied operations took place there and for months it was frontline territory. Its location right on the border and on the lateral moraine give the village great strategic value. Walk over the rolling hills where thousands of paratroopers were dropped in September 1944 and six months later the Rhineland offensive into Germany started. From the Freedom Museum, you pass several photo panels and a special viewpoint at the edge of the village to the Canadian War Cemetery on the Seven Hills Road. Back, the path crosses the meadows and passes several monuments. The walking route can be combined well with a visit to the Freedom Museum, where the regional story is placed in the national and international context of the war. Operation Market Garden and the Rhineland OffensiveOperation Market Garden was launched in September 1944. The aim of this combined land and air attack was to capture the bridges over the Meuse, Waal and Rhine rivers. The Nijmegen bridges were won, but the Arnhem bridge proved to be a bridge too far. In the region around Nijmegen the front came down, there was heavy fighting and many villages were evacuated. This changed in February 1945 when the Rhineland offensive started. This offensive saw almost half a million Allied soldiers move from the Reich of Nijmegen into Germany to cross the Rhine and end the war.

The Netherlands

Start of the Rhinelandoffensive

Allied paratroopers at Groesbeek

Liberators in Groesbeek, 1944

Information panels

Around the Freedom Museum

The Canada-Netherlands Memorial Park is a living monument opened by Canadian-born Princess Margriet in 1998. Several Maples, Canada's national tree, stand together in a grove and are surrounded by a meadow. A stone monument can be found at the edge of the park. The park forms a peaceful place, in contrast to the violence of the war that took place in the region during the 1940s. The park is also a nod to the landscape in the Rijk van Nijmegen region - open meadows and dense forests.From the park, visitors have a great view of the landscape where two important battles on the Western Front of World War II took place: Operation Market Garden (September 1944), and the Rhineland Offensive (February 1945). Twice, this ground witnessed a historic event: the landing of Market Garden paratroopers, and the passing of Allied tanks into Germany for the start of the Rhineland Offensive.Canadian soldiers in the Rijk van Nijmegen: During Operation Market Garden, the Rijk van Nijmegen was liberated by the Allies. However, the population was not safe, and the region became frontline territory. In November 1944, the British and American soldiers stationed here were deployed elsewhere and the Canadians took over. Their task was to protect the bridges, the town and the region from German attacks, and defend the front.

Canada - The Netherlands Memorialpark

Groesbeek's location on the lateral moraine near the border was important for the village: from here, you could see far to the east so that you could be quickly warned if there was any movement of troops by the enemy. After Operation Market Garden, the front line ran right through the middle of the village. Even as the fighting moved further north, the village was still in a vulnerable position. Viewpoints such as here on Galgenberg, and the even higher South Mill, gave a strategic advantage of which soldiers on both sides were aware. Because of the fighting, most of the civilians were evacuated or they had to flee, some even to North Brabant or Belgium. They thought they would be able to return after a few days, but it turned into months. When the civilians returned, their houses were often damaged by the violence of war or looted. From friend to foe: Before the war, life in the border region looked different from today. People spoke the same dialect, it was normal for farmers to have fields on the other side of the border, and children were at school in the other country. This changed enormously after the National Socialists came to power in 1933 and Germany's borders were slowly closed more and more. As a result, you could no longer cross the border easily and contacts between the countries became less and less. Especially after the German attack on the Netherlands in the May Days of 1940, there was almost no contact. Suddenly, neighbours had become enemies.

The Galgenberg

Market Garden took place in September 1944. The goal was to take the bridges across the rivers Meuse, Waal and Rhine, paving the way for a rapid advance to Germany. Although the ambitious plan failed as regards its ultimate goal, the area around Nijmegen and Groesbeek was liberated by the British and Americans. Strategically, this turned out to be very important. Because in February 1945, after six months of heavy frontline battles, one of the greatest Allied operations from the Second World War started from this area: the Rhineland Offensive. It was the final push to Berlin, which resulted in the liberation of the Netherlands and Western Europe.17th September 1944 saw the start of Operation Market Garden and, with it, the Battle of Arnhem. The Allies lost this battle, but the area around the city of Nijmegen was liberated, and the struggle for the city itself was won on 20th September 1944. However, for six long months, Nijmegen and the surrounding area subsequently found itself on the frontline and under continuous attack from German bombs and grenades.Likewise, despite having been liberated on 17th September 1944, the area around Groesbeek soon became the target of terrible attacks from Kleve and the German Reischswald.&nbsp;Throughout the autumn of 1944, a total of 30,000 people were evacuated from Groesbeek and the surrounding villages. A farm in no man's land is a story about what happened at Groenendaal Farm on Wylerbaan Road.During the long winter of 1944-1945, the frontline barely moved from its position between the Maas and Rhine rivers, extending from Mook, through Groesbeek and Wyler on to Erlecom. Then finally, on 8th February 1945, Operation Veritable made a dramatic push that would ultimately result in the liberation of The Netherlands and western Europe. The mammoth Rineland Offensive had begun, and it started in Nijmegen.<iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1s4VQxrWJJU?showinfo=0"></iframe>

Freedom Museum

17th September 1944 saw the start of Operation Market Garden and, with it, the Battle of Arnhem. The Allies lost this battle, but the area around the city of Nijmegen was liberated, and the struggle for the city itself was won on 20th September 1944. However, for six long months, Nijmegen and the surrounding area subsequently found itself on the frontline and under continuous attack from German bombs and grenades.Likewise, despite having been liberated on 17th September 1944, the area around Groesbeek soon became the target of terrible attacks from Kleve and the German Reischswald.&nbsp;Throughout the autumn of 1944, a total of 30,000 people were evacuated from Groesbeek and the surrounding villages. A farm in no man's land is a story about what happened at Groenendaal Farm on Wylerbaan Road.During the long winter of 1944-1945, the frontline barely moved from its position between the Maas and Rhine rivers, extending from Mook, through Groesbeek and Wyler on to Erlecom. Then finally, on 8th February 1945, Operation Veritable made a dramatic push that would ultimately result in the liberation of The Netherlands and western Europe. The mammoth Rineland Offensive had begun, and it started in Nijmegen.

A farm in No man's land

By the end of 1944, the south of The Netherlands had been liberated as far as the Nederrijn (Lower Rhine), Waal, Lek, Merwede and Maas rivers. The only way the British-Canadian army could invade Germany without having to cross one of these rivers, was through the countryside between the Maas and Rhine rivers known as the Kingdom of Nijmegen (Rijk van Nijmegen). So the British-Canadian army, led by Field Marshal Montgomery and General Crerar, planned a large-scale operation to seize the left bank of the River Rhine. This was to be the British and Canadian troops' largest operation since Normandy, on the smallest of battlefields.At the beginning of February 1945, almost half a million soldiers, more than 1000 guns and 34,000 vehicles lined the ten-kilometre-long front, ready for battle. Montgomery hoped to reach the Rhine quickly, relying on the cold of winter to have hardened the ground under foot. They started their attack with heavy artillery fire, stunning their opponents. But to their dismay, the frosts had gone and the operation turned into an enormous mud bath. During the first days de British struggled even more against landmines and mud, than the german defense.

Operation Veritable

Nel cimitero militare canadese riposano 2617 membri delle forze armate del Commonwealth uccisi durante la Seconda guerra mondiale. Questo è il cimitero militare del Commonwealth più grande nei Paesi Bassi. È importante notare che tutti i canadesi che persero la vita durante l’operazione Veritable sono sepolti, o in alcuni casi risepolti, qui. L’unica eccezione è un soldato canadese che riposa nel cimitero della foresta di Reichswald in Germania. Molti dei caduti furono portati qui dalla Germania perché il generale Crear, comandante delle forze canadesi in Europa, diede l’ordine che nessun caduto canadese fosse sepolto su suolo tedesco. Il personale alleato che riposa nel cimitero canadese è delle seguenti nazionalità: Canada (2339), Regno Unito (267) Belgio (3), Australia (2), Polonia (2), Nuova Zelanda (1), Paesi Bassi (1), Russia (1), e Jugoslavia (1). All’interno dell’entrata del cimitero vi è un monumento, un muro memoriale con i nomi degli scomparsi. Il monumento ricorda un totale di 1.047 uomini scomparsi in guerra: 942 Britannici, 102 Canadesi, 2 Sudafricani, e un aviere britannico. Di fronte alle tombe c’è la ‘Pietra del Ricordo’ con l’iscrizione ‘THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE’ (‘Il loro nome vive per sempre’).

In the Canadian War Cemetery, lie 2617 members of the Commonwealth armed forces killed during the Second World War. This is the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the Netherlands. Of special note is that, with the exception of just one, all Canadians who lost their lives during Operation Veritable were buried, or in many cases re-buried, here. The one exception is a Canadian soldier who lies in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery in Germany. Many of the dead were brought here from Germany, because General Crerar, commander of Canadian forces in Europe, gave the order that no Canadian dead should be buried in German soil.
The Allied personnel who lie buried in the Canadian war Cemetery are of the following nationalities: Canada (2339), United Kingdom (267) Belgium (3), Australia (2), Poland (2), New Zealand (1), The Netherlands (1), Russia (1), and Yugoslavia (1).

Inside the entrance to the cemetery stands a monument, a memorial wall bearing the names of military personnel missing in action. This monument commemorates a total of 1047 missing men: 942 British, 102 Canadians, 2 South Africans, and one British airman. In front of the graves stands the 'Stone of Remembrance', bearing the text:

'THEIR NAME LIVETH
FOR EVERMORE'.

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Cimitero militare canadese Groesbeek

È un’attrazione turistica per grandi e piccoli. I visitatori possono ripercorrere l’affascinante storia della guerra e della libertà sia nei Paesi Bassi sia in Germania. Non c’è mai una storia singola. Attraverso l’uso di varie prospettive, si viene a creare un’immagine sfaccettata della Seconda guerra mondiale, nel contesto della storia del XX secolo e degli eventi del presente. Il visitatore è stimolato a riflettere in maniera critica sulla libertà di allora e di oggi attraverso esperienze, strumenti interattivi e pezzi unici. La struttura, con una cupola di 12 metri, è essa stessa un’attrazione e assomiglia ad un enorme paracadute. Dal terrazzo si può godere di una vista panoramica su un paesaggio molto importante dal punto di vista storico.

The Freedom Museum is located in the beautiful green and hilly landscape of Groesbeek. The museum is close to Germany and right in the area of two of the most important operations on the Western Front during WW2: Market Garden and Veritable. It is a tourist attraction for young and old, from home and abroad. The visitors experience the fascinating Story of War and Freedom without Borders in both the Netherlands and Germany, Europe and beyond. There is never one story. A multifaceted image of the Second World War is created through various perspectives, in the context of the history of the 20th century and current events. The visitor is challenged to think critically about freedom then and now, full of experiences, interactivity and museum masterpieces.

The sustainable building itself, the 12-meter high Dome, is also an attraction and has a strong resemblance to an enormous parachute. From the terrace you have a panoramic view of the historic landscape.

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