Listen: bakkerstraat

On this spot, there used to be an office for the Van Gend en Loos parcel service. Inside that office, five civilian inhabitants of Arnhem were lined up against this wall and shot dead by German soldiers. This happened after the Germans had taken back control of the bridge. British soldiers, some of them wounded, had tried to get back to Oosterbeek. The five civilians shot here had helped them. The resistance movement in Arnhem was well organised. Following the failed battle by the bridge, members of the resistance helped to keep British soldiers hidden all over the city. They brought them food and took care of the wounded, sometimes for days at a time, while the city centre was being evacuated and fires raged in parts of it. The monument you see here has been adopted by a school in the city centre. Each year, pupils lay flowers and a wreath on it.