![The liberation of Maastricht and Z.Limburg in 1944 in color! [A.I. enhanced & colorized] Bevrijding](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
The Dutch Southern province of Limburg was the first to be liberated towards the end of WW2. As recorded by the American 117th Regimental Combat Team, the village of Mesch in Zuid Limburg was the first to be liberated on 12 September 1944. This was precisely 90 days after D-day and fierce battles in the Belgian Ardennes.
The Americans continued onto the city of Maastricht which was liberated two days later on the 14th of September 1944. In the following days the advance of the allied forces halted. From 17 to 25 september 1944
Operation Market Garden took place, during which an attempt was made to capture the Rhine bridge near Arnhem. This operation failed, eventually resulting in a stalemate situation during the following winter in which the Netherlands were devided between the German occupied north and the liberated part south of the main rivers: Rhine, Maas and Waal.
That winter is commonly known as the "Hunger winter" during which many people in the North suffered starvation and at least 20,000 people died as the result. It took until the beginning of March 1945 before the remaining part of Limburg was liberated, involving among other the cities of Venlo and Roermond.
In this film we see highly interesting images of the city of Maastricht, just after the liberation, collaborators being arrested, scenes at the police station, huge damage to bridges and towns allong the river Maas, German POW's and many images of Maastricht during the following winter.
For more information, please switch on the CC captions to read the events and locations while the film plays and watch the rest of the film without spoken commentary.
Source: Beeld En Geluid.
Music: Experia - "Accepting Defeat", Howard Harper Barnes - "The Way to the Sky" and Experia - Taste of Revenge".
Draft Time line (please help to complete this):
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00:00 Collaborators being rounded up
02:45 Sint-Servaasbrug at Maastricht (13th century stone bridge) badly damaged
04:37 Dutch allied forces Head quarters.
07:09 Check point: papers being checked.
25 июн 2024
