Evacuation of Arnhem

[2] The occupying German forces decided to evacuate almost the entire civilian population in order to better defend the city against the Allied Operation Market Garden.

[citation needed] The evacuation was conducted in an unorganised manner, and with great difficulty, demanding a heavy toll on many inhabitants, who were only allowed to take possessions of utmost necessity with them, not knowing where to go, when they would be able to return, and in which state they would find back their homes and other property (generally very bad, as would become apparent).

It was not until the Allied Liberation of Arnhem on 14 April 1945 that the evacuees were theoretically allowed to return,[3] but in practice, it was often very difficult as many homes had become uninhabitable due to war damage and plunderings.

The evacuation of Arnhem did save the lives of potentially hundreds of civilians, as it would be in the front line for several subsequent months and be shelled by enemy fire, just like the liberated city of Nijmegen on the Allied side.

Nijmegen, however, was never evacuated during the five months that it was being bombarded by the Germans from the northern bank of the river Waal, due to which hundreds of Nijmegian civilians were killed.

On 23 September, the German Wehrmacht ordered the evacuation of the city, as well as a number of nearby places: Renkum, Heveadorp, Doorwerth, Wolfheze, Heelsum, Oosterbeek and Wageningen, and large parts of de Liemers (between the Rhine and Oude IJssel).

[7][8][9]Initially, there were lots of doubt about, and resistance against, the evacuation order amongst both civilians and officials; many thought, just like during Mad Tuesday (5 September 1944), that the Allied liberation would arrive very soon, and nobody knew that it would not come for another eight months (April 1945).

[10] On 25 September 1944, on the occupier's orders, most of the Arnhem population moved northwards and westwards, usually on foot, and sometimes with a cargo bike or a small cart to bring along some possessions.

[2] The journey was not without dangers; at the bridge crossing the IJssel near Zwolle, a German army checkpoint had been established which arrested all men below the age of 50 for forced labour.

[3][2] After the liberation of Arnhem (codenamed Operation Anger) on 14 April 1945, refugees were gradually allowed to return home,[3] but the repatriation efforts would continue for months.