The Bombing of Rotterdam (occasionally referred to as the Rotterdam Blitz) refers to the aerial bombardment of Rotterdam by the German Air Force on 14 May 1940, during the German invasion of the Netherlands in World War II. The objective was to support the German troops fighting in the city, break Dutch resistance and force the Dutch to surrender. Even though preceding negotiations resulted in a ceasefire, the bombardment took place nonetheless, in conditions which remain controversial, and destroyed almost the entire historic city centre, killing nearly nine hundred civilians and leaving 30,000 people homeless.
The psychological and physical success of the bombing, from the German perspective, led the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKW) to threaten to destroy the city of Utrecht if the Dutch Government did not surrender. The Dutch capitulated early the next morning.
Read more about Rotterdam Blitz: Prelude, Battle For Rotterdam, The Bombing, Aftermath
Famous quotes containing the word blitz:
“Timothy Winters comes to school
With eyes as wide as a football-pool,
Ears like bombs and teeth like splinters:
A blitz of a boy is Timothy Winters.”
—Charles Causley (b. 1917)