Listen: Stationsplein

You do have to watch out for the traffic a little bit, but even so, it is safe enough to walk around here now. However, that was not the case in the winter of 1944. At that time, signs had been erected by the German occupier. “Combat zone. Live ammunition fired without warning. Anyone entering will be punished by death.” Practically the whole of the population of the city had already been evacuated. Following the battles near the bridge, Arnhem had become a ghost town. Despite the warning signs, there was still plenty of looting going on. This was something that the Germans did systematically, while others were more chaotic in their approach. These others included German civilians, individual soldiers, adherents of the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands, and also people forced to work for the Germans. This was during the time of the Dutch famine, known as the ‘Hunger Winter’ - and everyone was hungry. They thought that there was perhaps food to be found here in the cellars and store cupboards of the empty houses... At that time, there was no longer any clear distinction between what is yours and what is mine...