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A WW2 tour looking at the war in the Netherlands from Blitzkrieg to occupation, the Holocaust and Liberation.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch – our friendly team are ready and waiting to help with any further information you need!
Please choose your preferred 7 day itinerary
Local departure by coach, then to our hotel in Amersfoort in the Netherlands for a three-night stay.
We begin by looking at the battle for the Netherlands in May 1940 when the German Blitzkrieg swept across the country. We examine the Grebbelinie area where the defences were utilised to try and stop the German advance.
We visit Fort aan de Buursteeg, see the Dutch War Cemetery and National Army Memorial at Grebbeberg, and then see the trenches and bunkers that were part of the defences. We also visit the Waterliniemuseum at Fort bij Vechten, which explains the history of the defences here and how the flooding of the area was used to slow down the attackers.
We finish the day at Huis Doorn, the Dutch chateau that Kaiser Wilhelm II fled to in exile in 1918, and was then celebrated by the Nazis following their defeat of the Dutch Army in 1940.
Includes Breakfast
Today we look at one of the darkest chapters of the Second World War: the Holocaust. There was a large Jewish population in the Netherlands in 1940, and we discover the terrible story of how they were persecuted, detained and deported to death camps.
We visit two sites where Dutch Jews were detained, and which are now Holocaust Memorial sites: Camp Vught and Camp Fort Amersfoort.
Includes Breakfast
We move on to the Liberation of the Netherlands today and visit the battlefields around Arnhem, looking at some of the lesser-known locations connected with operations here in September 1944, especially from a German perspective.
We examine the story of the Dutch SS Battalion at Ginkel Heath, the fighting along the Arnhem road involved Kampfgruppe Krafft, Kampfgruppe Spindler in Oosterbeek and the use of German tanks in the fighting for Arnhem Bridge and the Oosterbeek Perimeter. We then continue to our hotel in Den Bosch for a three-night stay.
Includes Breakfast
Following on from Arnhem, we look at what happened to British soldiers after the battle and see the Apeldoorn Death Cells, the Warrack Room and the Airborne Hospital site in Apeldoorn, where many of the wounded from 1st Airborne Division were sent.
We look at the evacuation of Airborne soldiers and visit the 40-45 Museum at Beekbergen. We also see the Evacuation Memorial in Apeldoorn, visit Resistance Memorials and graves, and see the Seyss-Inquart Bunker.
Includes Breakfast
We continue with the story of the Liberation of the Netherlands and visit the Canadian War Cemetery at Holten. We see a V1 launch site at Nijverdal, look at the road bridge in Deventer used in the filming of ‘A Bridge Too Far’ as the Arnhem bridge and examine the fighting here, and later look at the IJssell Crossing near Arnhem in April 1945, visit the National Liberation Memorial at Wageningen, as well as the Liberation Hall Museum.
Includes Breakfast
Return home.
Includes Breakfast
Don’t hesitate to get in touch – our friendly team are ready and waiting to help with any further information you need!
Don’t hesitate to get in touch – our friendly team are ready and waiting to help with any further information you need!