Europe Remembers on Tour continued with Operation Market Garden

Europe Remembers on Tour – Operation Market Garden

From September 17 to 22, we took part in the 75th commemoration activities for Operation Market Garden as part of Europe Remembers on Tour project, visiting several sights and attending ceremonies and events through the Netherlands.

On the first day, we walked along the Airborne Hiking Trail, visited the ‘Geronimo’ Museum and attended the commemoration in Eerde. The next day, we visited the Wings of Liberation Museum, went to the Paulushoef and saw the column of old military vehicles in the centre of Eindhoven. Then, we continued with a visit to the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek and to the nearby recently renewed Freedom Museum.

We also went to the Information Centre Poles of Driel and we attended the Bridge of Liberation Experience at the John Frost Bridge in Arnhem. Saturday, fifth day of our journey, was all about the mass parachute droppings in Ede and our visit to the Horsa Glider at the Airborne Museum ‘Hartenstein’ in Oosterbeek. Finally, our tour concluded with a beautiful commemoration at the Oosterbeek War Cemetery and the crossing of Poles over the river Rhine in Driel.

Europe Remembers on Tour – The Betuwe

On October 10 and 11, we traveled to the Betuwe area to continue our journey in the footsteps of Allied soldiers.

After September 1944 and Operation Market Garden, the Betuwe, the floodplain between the Waal and Rhine river, became the boundary between Allied and German territory. The half flooded no-man’s-land came to be known as "Men’s Island", since almost all the women and children were evacuated and the land was surrounded by water.

For Europe Remembers project, the team visited the site of the Crossroads Battle, Operation Pegasus I and Opheusden. We saw and heard how the soldiers of the Allied divisions held the ground in the area, what difficulties they encountered, and how they resisted artillery barrages, dangerous patrols, rain, wind, and bitter cold.

Europe Remembers on Tour – Next Steps

The next steps of Europe Remembers on Tour project will take us to the province of Zeeland at the end of October to commemorate the Battle of the Scheldt. Then, we will travel to the Luxembourg and Belgian Ardennes in mid-December to focus on the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.

Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe's Award Ceremony

Earlier this year, the Council of Europe awarded the Liberation Route Europe with the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe certification.

The award ceremony took place during the Annual Cultural Routes Forum, held this year on October 2 in Sibiu, Romania. LRE’s managing director Rémi Praud who attended the ceremony, received the official certificate from Mr. Dominioni, Executive Secretary of the Enlarged Partial Agreement (EPA) on Cultural Routes and Director of the European Institute of Cultural Routes (Luxembourg), and Mrs. Ringbeck, Chair of the Governing Board of the Enlarged Partial Agreement (EPA) on Cultural Routes.

Liberation of Belgium content developed in partnership with CEGESOMA

New content related to the liberation of Belgium is now available on the Europe Remembers website in English, Dutch, and French. The content, which mainly includes storylines and biographies, aims to share lesser-known stories of the liberation of Brussels, Mons, and other Belgian cities. It was created with the help of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles and in partnership with CEGESOMA (Centre for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Society).

Storyline: The Fire at Brussels' Palais de Justice

The fire at the Palais de Justice on 3 September 1944 remains one of the key moments of the Liberation of Brussels. In collective memory, this arson further fueled hatred for the occupier.

Was the fire the final, desperate act of an occupying regime wildly lashing out in its death throes or was it a symbol of Belgium’s regained liberty?

Read the whole story on Europe Remembers