Hi everbody,
today I visited three small towns in this area which are literally at my doorstep. Weeze, Kevelaer and Winnekendonk are located in northwestern Germany and are only a few miles off the Dutch border, roughly 100 kms to the north of Cologne, to give you an idea where we are. The pictures are in a chronological order from when they were taken. At first is a map of this area which descrines “Operation Veritable” which took place here early 1945. I highlighted the names of the towns in yellow.
These first two pictures were taken before the serious fighting started here although the war was more than half a year old. Hitlers birthday was obviously a big thing here in Germany as can be seen in our first picture taken in Kevelaer on April 20th 1940. No doubt the children love the fanfares and soldier-parade. Little did
they know that hell would lie ahead of them in the next five years to come.
By July 2013 the soldiers had gone but the scenery hasn’t changed much. The hotel still remains in ownership of the family of Anton Voss. Citizens say that Kevelaer was spared from destruction during the war as it was (and still is) a place of pilgrimage. There had been some attacks on the railway station (of which I will show you pictures later) of which a few bombs hit the area surronding the railway lines. But apart from that Kevelaer survived the war more or less unscathed.
After the war in the west had begun troops were mobilised and sent to the western front. Here in Kevelaer’s Hauptstrasse in May 1940 very jolly troops of the 6. Armee are on their way with horses towings their field artillary.
The same area 73 years later:
We will now take a leap to March 1945. After Goch had fallen to troops 30th Corps and the 2 CDN Corps heavy resistance was met in Weeze. Heavy fighting erupted in which most of the city was destroyed. Here’s in the Loestraße in Weeze, it was snowing in March 1945.
I visited this spot this afternoon in glorious weather, once a scene of bitter fighting. Today it is the most peaceful place one can imagine. I guess most of the younger citizens now have no idea about what happened here in 1945.
This is the Wasserstrasse in Weeze. By looking at this picture and the previous one (and knowing where they were taken) one can tell how these troops are surrounding the market-place to take it.
This is what it looks like today:
With the marketplace of Weeze now taken the British and Canadian troops now head for yet another German city on their way to Berlin. The next city they took was Kevelaer – but more of that later.
After Kevelaer was taken with hardly any resistance by the Germans, in Winnekendonk all hell broke loose! German Troops that had fled from Kevelaer took refuge in various hamlets in and around Winnekendonk and after the fighting had started the RAF was called in. This is what their Typhoons had left of the place:
When I took this picture this afternoon I was watched by an elderly gentleman. After watching me take pictures and then comparing them with images in a book he new exactly what I was doing. When I showed him the historical image he said “Yes, that is what it looked like here! Let’s make sure it doesn’t happen again!”
After Winnekendonk had fallen Sonsbeck was next in line. I’ll show you pictures of Sonsbeck and Goch soon.
Peter
By: Arabella-Cox - 22nd October 2014 at 10:53
Thanks for that PerfectPic Co.,
I was hoping that other Forum-users might join in and share their photos. I too visited a dissused (or rather destroyed) airfield in this area which was known as Fliegerhorst Venlo-Herongen. From, 1941 onwards Venlo-Herongen was home of the I.NJG1, the first Nightfighter-squadron with their all-black Bf110s. In January 1944 65 aircraft were stationed here, of which 37 belonged to I.NJG1. These included one Do217N, 4 He219H-O, two JU88R-2 and twenty Bf110G-4. Before the war ended even the rocket-fighter Me163 was stationed in Venlo-Herongen as well as the He111 bomber equiped with the V-1. On February 26th 1944 USAAF Marauders flew the first air-raid against Venlo-Herongen. The Nazis later gave the air base up and destroyed most of what was left before retreating.Here’s a Google_earth-view of the site today. The runways can still be made-out. The ruins of hangars and barracks are on the German side of the former airfield; the runways are on the Dutch side. Today the site is known as the “Groote Heide” in Dutch which means large meadow. There are a number of sign-Posts everywhere describing the area to visitors.
The numbers Show where the following Pictures were taken. Though I was there all afternoon yesterday I spent most of the time on the airfield.
Picture 1. We are now looking down one of the main runways. The tarmac has long since gone but most of the space is still very open. You can tell why this area was chosen for use as an airbase.
Picture 2. Part of the site is being used by a local Gliding-Club. Their grass-Strip is next to one of the former runways.
Picture 3: We are now looking across the beginning of the main runway I came here on. It thrills me to think that years ago all-black Dornier 217s; Ju 88s; Bf 110s began their take-off run right here! Even the rocket-propelled Me163 took off on their few and futile missions from here.
Picture 4: Here’s one of the hangars now used by the Gliding-Club. The rear wall of one of the Nazi hangars is still standing behind it. The concrete floor is still the original floor of the German Hangar.
Picture 5: I have to admit this isn’t one of the pictures I took yesterday. This is one of the so-called Rundbogen-Halle (Semi-circle-Hangar) of which quite a few can still be seen, but this one here is far and away the best preserved. Built to shelter Night-Fighters that have Long since vanished, nature is taking over. Guided tours are being held here several times a month. The next one is in mid-November. I’m definatly back. The wooded area is full of destroyed barrack buildings. Part of the Officers’ Quarters are still untouched and still being used. One of the large surviving buildings is still being used as a School but most of the site is destroyed. Visitors that don’t know that this was a former airfield wouldn’t even recognize the area as one.
Peter
Fascinating post Peter – please let’s have some more!
I used to drive around Venlo when posted at RAF Laarbruch – just didn’t realise at the time this was on my doorstep.
Looking at the airfield site on Google maps there appears to be a number of bomb craters still existent – is that correct?
Thanks
Nick
By: Jim_Harley - 21st October 2014 at 16:54
The Collings Foundation crew recently did a tour through Europe, we started in Amsterdam and worked our way through northern France. In doing some research in a hotel one evening I realized we were approximating Hitler’s tour through his old WWI haunts. Here are a few highlights. I have a few more if you guys are interested.
jim harley
SS Headquarters in Amsterdam
Vimy Ridge
Hitler’s Staff car in Ypres
By: ericmunk - 21st October 2014 at 09:38
The hangar in picture 4 used by the glider club. Up to winter 1979 the old German hangar was complete and in use with them. An unusual load of snow unfortunately saw the wooden roof collapse on January 31st, 1979. Their fleet of aircraft was substantially damaged, and the current hangar was built in that year on the remains of the old one.
Good to see in picture 2 the yellow Rhönlerche I just restored and which features in another thread on this forum…
By: Bombgone - 21st October 2014 at 09:24
Excellent stuff once again Peter. You make the imagination run wild. The best on going thread on the forum.
By: Avro Avian - 21st October 2014 at 01:54
Excellent post Peter!
By: Tango Charlie - 20th October 2014 at 18:35
Thanks for that PerfectPic Co.,
I was hoping that other Forum-users might join in and share their photos. I too visited a dissused (or rather destroyed) airfield in this area which was known as Fliegerhorst Venlo-Herongen. From, 1941 onwards Venlo-Herongen was home of the I.NJG1, the first Nightfighter-squadron with their all-black Bf110s. In January 1944 65 aircraft were stationed here, of which 37 belonged to I.NJG1. These included one Do217N, 4 He219H-O, two JU88R-2 and twenty Bf110G-4. Before the war ended even the rocket-fighter Me163 was stationed in Venlo-Herongen as well as the He111 bomber equiped with the V-1. On February 26th 1944 USAAF Marauders flew the first air-raid against Venlo-Herongen. The Nazis later gave the air base up and destroyed most of what was left before retreating.Here’s a Google_earth-view of the site today. The runways can still be made-out. The ruins of hangars and barracks are on the German side of the former airfield; the runways are on the Dutch side. Today the site is known as the “Groote Heide” in Dutch which means large meadow. There are a number of sign-Posts everywhere describing the area to visitors.
The numbers Show where the following Pictures were taken. Though I was there all afternoon yesterday I spent most of the time on the airfield.
Picture 1. We are now looking down one of the main runways. The tarmac has long since gone but most of the space is still very open. You can tell why this area was chosen for use as an airbase.
Picture 2. Part of the site is being used by a local Gliding-Club. Their grass-Strip is next to one of the former runways.
Picture 3: We are now looking across the beginning of the main runway I came here on. It thrills me to think that years ago all-black Dornier 217s; Ju 88s; Bf 110s began their take-off run right here! Even the rocket-propelled Me163 took off on their few and futile missions from here.
Picture 4: Here’s one of the hangars now used by the Gliding-Club. The rear wall of one of the Nazi hangars is still standing behind it. The concrete floor is still the original floor of the German Hangar.
Picture 5: I have to admit this isn’t one of the pictures I took yesterday. This is one of the so-called Rundbogen-Halle (Semi-circle-Hangar) of which quite a few can still be seen, but this one here is far and away the best preserved. Built to shelter Night-Fighters that have Long since vanished, nature is taking over. Guided tours are being held here several times a month. The next one is in mid-November. I’m definatly back. The wooded area is full of destroyed barrack buildings. Part of the Officers’ Quarters are still untouched and still being used. One of the large surviving buildings is still being used as a School but most of the site is destroyed. Visitors that don’t know that this was a former airfield wouldn’t even recognize the area as one.
Peter
More more more please Peter. Fascinating each and every one, this tread could run for years!
By: Arabella-Cox - 20th October 2014 at 17:51
Thanks for that PerfectPic Co.,
I was hoping that other Forum-users might join in and share their photos. I too visited a dissused (or rather destroyed) airfield in this area which was known as Fliegerhorst Venlo-Herongen. From, 1941 onwards Venlo-Herongen was home of the I.NJG1, the first Nightfighter-squadron with their all-black Bf110s. In January 1944 65 aircraft were stationed here, of which 37 belonged to I.NJG1. These included one Do217N, 4 He219H-O, two JU88R-2 and twenty Bf110G-4. Before the war ended even the rocket-fighter Me163 was stationed in Venlo-Herongen as well as the He111 bomber equiped with the V-1. On February 26th 1944 USAAF Marauders flew the first air-raid against Venlo-Herongen. The Nazis later gave the air base up and destroyed most of what was left before retreating.
Here’s a Google_earth-view of the site today. The runways can still be made-out. The ruins of hangars and barracks are on the German side of the former airfield; the runways are on the Dutch side. Today the site is known as the “Groote Heide” in Dutch which means large meadow. There are a number of sign-Posts everywhere describing the area to visitors.
The numbers Show where the following Pictures were taken. Though I was there all afternoon yesterday I spent most of the time on the airfield.
Picture 1. We are now looking down one of the main runways. The tarmac has long since gone but most of the space is still very open. You can tell why this area was chosen for use as an airbase.
Picture 2. Part of the site is being used by a local Gliding-Club. Their grass-Strip is next to one of the former runways.
Picture 3: We are now looking across the beginning of the main runway I came here on. It thrills me to think that years ago all-black Dornier 217s; Ju 88s; Bf 110s began their take-off run right here! Even the rocket-propelled Me163 took off on their few and futile missions from here.
Picture 4: Here’s one of the hangars now used by the Gliding-Club. The rear wall of one of the Nazi hangars is still standing behind it. The concrete floor is still the original floor of the German Hangar.
Picture 5: I have to admit this isn’t one of the pictures I took yesterday. This is one of the so-called Rundbogen-Halle (Semi-circle-Hangar) of which quite a few can still be seen, but this one here is far and away the best preserved. Built to shelter Night-Fighters that have Long since vanished, nature is taking over. Guided tours are being held here several times a month. The next one is in mid-November. I’m definatly back. The wooded area is full of destroyed barrack buildings. Part of the Officers’ Quarters are still untouched and still being used. One of the large surviving buildings is still being used as a School but most of the site is destroyed. Visitors that don’t know that this was a former airfield wouldn’t even recognize the area as one.
Peter
By: PerfectPic Co. - 31st January 2014 at 17:57
352nd FG Control Tower Bodney – 1944 and Sep 2013[ATTACH=CONFIG]225092[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]225093[/ATTACH]
By: Portagee - 31st January 2014 at 00:52
I’d just like to add my thanks and for your fabulous efforts in bringing History to a Modern Landscape.
The comparison between now and then, is stunning , in both what has survived, what has been resurrected in the original style and also where the new sits side by side with buildings that still show bullet damage.
More power to your research and your camera.
By: Malcolm McKay - 30th January 2014 at 23:18
This is absolutely fascinating – thanks for posting.
By: Arabella-Cox - 30th January 2014 at 20:19
Hi everybody,
I’m am trying to locate eyewitnesses of the war in the Rhineland. I am now in touch with loads of people here in Germany but I would really like to talk to allied troops or pilots that were here in early 1945.If anyone has any suggestions how I can contact someone, please let me know. I’ll Keep you posted about how I’m getting on.
Thanks!
Peter
By: Arabella-Cox - 22nd September 2013 at 19:17
Hi again,
After three weeks working in my new job today I decided to go on another War in the Rhineland then-and-now trip today. I planned this one well in advance so I knew where some of the sites were without being there before. Today our trip will take us to Kranenburg which as you can see in the map is well up north, about half way between Nijmegen and Kleve. It’s about half-an-hour’s drive from here. Loads of really interesting images of Kranenburg can be found in British and Canadian archives.
The British High Command had hoped to take advantage of the frozen ground in Ferbruary 1945 but after the thaw set in the solid gound turned into inpenetrable mud. The idea was that Kleve was to be taken on the first day of Operation Veritable. Kleve was finally taken a fortnight later. The Germans had breached the dykes of the Rhine and flooded the lower Rhineland. When I was there this morning it seemed amazing to me that parts of Kranenburg were affected by the floods although the river Rhine is some ten kilomteres away from the city.
Kranenburg is highlighted in red:
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Here British and Canadian troops seem quite cheerful after reaching the Reich territory. Kranenburg had received its share of artillary fire in the previous days.
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The main road leading from Nijmegen to Kleve has been widened since the war
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A Canadian soldier appears quite amused about the flooding. This and next few images are all of the Große Straße in Kranenburg
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The building to the left is new, the right building has been rebuilt, marks of the former arrangement of windows can be seen in the front of the house:
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The floods cause no problems for tanks as long as the water-level is not too high
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As we move further up the Große Straße the street level rises and the water turns to mud
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After leaving Kranenburg for Kleve the allied troops meet the floods again. Here a damaged Valentine tank lies crippled in a ditch
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Not sure if this is exactly the right place but it’s for sure the right road. The cyclists path to the right is part of the old road surface.
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British troops display their war trophies taken from this restaurant. Hard to make out what the writing on the flag says, the name Nütterden can be made out which is the name of the village where the restaurant is located. Nütterden lies between Kranenburg and Kleve.
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The restaurant still exitst. Even some of the original window-panes have survived. Today the restaurant is called “Zu den Forellenteichen” and enjoys an excellent reputation.
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More soon
Peter
By: jack windsor - 3rd September 2013 at 09:56
great thread, thanks, in the picture of the 2 British troops,1 with a german gun you can see a damaged brick just by the street sign, that managed to stay damaged to the present day. Love these comparison photo,s
regards
jack…
By: Arabella-Cox - 2nd September 2013 at 22:25
It was my first day at my new job today which, hopefully, will carry me through till my retirement in 15 years. My six-week holiday is now over and I hope to get to the sites that I haven’t been to yet soon, but I don’t know when this will happen. It could take a while.
Drem,
Stadtlohn and Südlohn in Kreis Borken are further north than I’m hoping to go. I don’t have any wartime pictures of this particular area. You might want to check the IWM-site to see if they have any.
These here might be the last pictures from me for a while.
There are loads of reports of bombings in this area maybe from stricken bombers that jettisoned their load to get away quickly or even maybe from bombers that simply got lost, dropped their bombs and then dashed off for home; who can blame them?
This building here on Geldern’s Brülscher Weg/Bahnhof Strasse suffered bomb damage on the night from the 23rd to the 24th of May 1940. Perhaps some student of Bomber Command can shed some light on what the actual target was that night.
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Not exactly the same angle but nonetheless the building survived the war despite being one of the first victims of bombing.
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This site here has been on my wants-list for a very long time. The Endtschenhof in Kervendonk is about three kilometers to the west of Kervenheim. I managed to locate it with the help of Google-Earth (what a fascinating modern age we live in!). I followed the stream on Google-Earth westwards from Kervenheim until I came across this site. There aren’t too many farms close to the stream arranged like this, so when I found it I knew I was there. When I drove towards the Endtschenhof with my Sat-Nav showing me the way and I saw the building for the first time, I knew I had found it. I have to admit this one sent shivers down my spine. The Endtschenhof has stories to tell of civilians hiding in the cellar including children whilst fierce fighting was going on outside; also stories of bravery, humanity but also of misunderstandings and unfortunatly consequently of death.
Here we have the Endtschenhof in 1945 after the fighting had seized with a British half-track crossing the Mühlenfleuth on a make-shift bridge. Note the damage to the right edge of the front of the farm.
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And here we have the Endtschenhof in 2013. Today it is impossible to see the farm from behind the stream like in the historic image as it is too far overgrown with trees and bushes. I’ll go back when it’s Winter, surely it’ll be easier then. The owner wasn’t in when I was there. I rang the bell but no-one answered. Unfortunatly the name on the door-bell isn’t listed in our phone-book. I’ll write them a few lines and ask them if I can photograph their house next winter.
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Hopefully more soon!
Peter
By: Drem - 2nd September 2013 at 20:16
Wonderful pictures.
We were in this area just a couple of weeks ago and I was wondering if you would have anything to show from slightly further North, ie Oeding, Sudlohn and Raesfeld.
By: Bombgone - 30th August 2013 at 18:45
Another master piece Peter Well done. :eagerness:
By: Dr Strangelove - 30th August 2013 at 18:29
Great work Peter, missed this first time round, glad you added to it, looking forward to the next installment.
By: Arabella-Cox - 30th August 2013 at 18:04
Hi all,
time to continue our series of “Then and Now” images of the war in the Rhineland. Today I visited Uedem and Höst. These have been highlighted in the map of Operation Veritable. You will see this area forms a triangle between Goch, Uedem and Weeze. The plan was to advance southwards towards Weeze in a line spanning from Goch to Uedem to prevent the German defenders from attacking from the West. Between Goch and Weeze lies the small village of Höst, which actually is no more than a group of large farmhouses. The battle in this area lasted for ten days. The mud must have been just as big a problem as the Germans defending their homeland.
Here is the market square in Uedem:
Uedem was very busy this afternoon!
This is Höst. The farms here are private property so I didn’t want to go trespassing someone’s grounds taking pictures of their houses so I decided to contact the owners first. I started looking for these farms by myself about a fortnight ago but did not succeed. So I contacted a former business partner of my brother’s who lives near Höst. As I knew the names of the first two buildings I was hoping to locate, Polzenhof and Mechelshof, he told me much to my surprise (and delight) that they both still exist but Mechelshof is today ran under a different name. He gave me the phone-number of todays owner of the Polzenhof and I was there for the first time early this week. I got the owner’s wife on the phone and explained what I am doing and asked if she had any objections with me taking pictures of her house. She didn’t seem exactly enthusiastic but nevertheless we arranged a meeting the following afternoon. I have to say their hospitality was nothing short of amazing. They showed me around, let me into their house and even had a wartime photo-album of which I was allowed to take photos. They had the well known pictures of their building being occupied by British and Canadian troops which obviously came from a UK source after the war (the Album was compiled by his parents so they didn’t know where the pictures come from).
Here is the Polzenhof Febuary 1945
and here is the Polzenhof today. The Arrangement of windows was changed when the house was rebuilt.
Here is the piggery with British troops jumping out of windows
and here’s the piggery today
You can see footage of the Polzenhof here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-pV4PxTVqs
Fast Forward to 18:50 to get there. After that you will also see other sites we have visited such as Goch and Weeze as well as sites that I’m planning to go to like Sonsbeck.
I also saw this image in their photo-album but this copy comes from the IWM site. This is the hallway inside the Polzenhof. I didn’t want to push my luck too far, asking them if I can take pictures of the inside of their house! (I’ll do that next time!”)
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More soon!
Peter
By: Bombgone - 5th August 2013 at 20:01
Always look forward to this thread. Nice work well Done again Peter. Very interesting about the Dams raid.
By: PeterVerney - 5th August 2013 at 19:30
Some very interesting comparison photos.
Going back to the aircraft, I can remember seeing Curtiss Commandos and AW Albermarles towing gliders, around this period.
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July 11, 2013 at 7:14 pm