Visit Airborne Museum

When:

25 September 2011

13:00 Hour - 17:00 Hour

Event organizer:Gelderland region

Description

Exclusively for region members and partners
Children are welcome

From one o'clock you are welcome at Brasserie Kleijn Hartesteijn. After coffee and cake, we will visit the Airborne Museum. This is located in the former Hotel Hartenstein, dating from 1865.
At the museum, we are welcomed by Jan Loos who tells us about "Operation Market Garden".

Part of the staff of Walter Model, the German Field Marshal who ruled around Arnhem during World War II, had temporarily established its headquarters of Heeresgruppe West in Oosterbeek, but had to leave the village headlong on 17 September 1944. The British had been dropped behind the German lines with an ambitious mission: capture the bridge at Arnhem and occupy it until ground troops arrived from the south. Then they wanted to push on to Germany and quickly end
the war.

The morale of the British and Polish soldiers (later dropped at Driel) was sky-high. Yet Market Garden - the largest airborne operation ever - was a failure that cost thousands of lives. Over 12,000 troops were dropped near Ede, with only 2,200 Allies returning home.

Hartenstein played a pivotal role. Commander John Frost reached the bridge with just over 700 troops and briefly held out. The British had to retreat, and set up a line of defence around Hartenstein. The hotel became the headquarters, where Major General Urquhart was in command. He maintained this only briefly, as German supremacy became too great. The Allies withdrew at night, taking boats across the Rhine

13:00 Reception with coffee and cake at Kleijn Hartesteijn
14:00 Reception and explanation of Operation Market Garden at the Airborne Museum
15:00 Visit Museum
17:00 Closing

Kleijn Hartensteijn is right next to the Airborne Museum