The bombing of Nijmegen on 22 February 1944 was a target-of-opportunity aerial bombing raid by the United States Army Air Forces on the city of Nijmegen in the Netherlands, then occupied by Nazi Germany. In terms of the number of victims, it was one of the largest bombardments of a Dutch city during World War II. Officially, nearly 800 people were killed by accident due to inaccurate bombing, but because people in hiding were not counted, the actual death toll was likely higher. A large part of the historic city centre was destroyed, including Saint Steven's Church. Saint Augustine's Church and Nijmegen railway station were heavily damaged as well.
Police photo from 1945: in the foreground, parts of the centre mainly bombed in February '44; most buildings in the background were not destroyed until Operation Market Garden (September 1944).
A similar B-24 Liberator bombing a German railyard in March 1945
Monument 'De Schommel' at the Raadhuishof (2000) remembers the raid's civilian casualties.
Daalseweg cemetery, victim monument 22-02-44.
Nijmegen is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands and the first to be recognized as such in Roman times. In 2005, it celebrated 2,000 years of existence.
Nijmegen city view from the north-west
Market square
Weighhouse (1613)
Concert hall Opera Concertgebouw de Vereeniging