Personal Stories
Personal stories and experiences
The story of Operation Veritable cannot be explained better then by the people who experienced the battle first hand. We contacted, interviewd and still collect the memories of Second World War veterans and soldiers that where in battle in February 1945. The personal accounts of these Canadian, British but also German soldiers give an unique and impressive insight in those final days of the war. We get an idea of how and why the operation was planned by reading the decisions of former commanders in their memoires. And by reading the numurous war diaries and citations of battle awards of ordinairy soldiers we get a detailed impression of how significant this battle was and still is in their lives and for the outcome of the war.
There are also many stories about young soldiers who didn't survive these cold winter days, their stories are being told by comrades and documented in citations. By collecting and bringing together all these individual stories we preserve the reason why these men fought this battle. We should never forget why they gave their lives; they fought for their country and died for our freedom.
Although almost all civilians in the battlefield area where evacuated in the early days of 1945, we are able to tell some stories of people that eye-witnessed the build up of troops on the Dutch side of the border. They experienced the artillery barrage and start of the offensive. The German civilians where mostly not evacuated until later in the month and their experience now tells us the story of how life was on the other side of the Dutch-German border.
Photographs
