Blauwburgwal Memorial

door Loes Buisman · 18 januari 2020

Local residents are asking your support for a very special project: the placing of a memorial to honour the victims of a “forgotten” bombing of the houses at the Blauwburgwal and the corner of the Herengracht. Help them to realize this in time. They plan to unveil it on 11 May 2020, exactly 80 years after the event.

The day after the invasion of the Netherlands by the Germans on 10 May 1940, the first bombs fell on Amsterdam homes. It was a hectic period, and even the local newspapers, full of other war-news, only showed a very short report. The event passed into oblivion (to the outside world).

11 May 1940, Saturday morning before Pentecost, at ten fifty-five.
A German bomber dropped four bombs of 250 kg each on the Blauwburgwal corner Herengracht.
44 deaths, 79 wounded, 12 homes completely destroyed, and much material damage in the neighbourhood.
The youngest victim was 6 years old, the eldest 72. The names of the 44 victims have been discovered recently. Their next of kin have been traced, brothers etc. and far removed cousins.
Also family-members of some of the wounded have been traced, and those of the doctor who came there as first person to provide medical help. He lived around the corner at the Singel.
Stories about the dead, the wounded. and eyewitnesses show a picture of the first days of the war.
The Buurtinitiatief Herdenking Blauwburgwal (Local initiative Memorial Blauwburgwal) wants to honour the victims of the bombardment with a memorial plaque which will name and age of each victim.

After 80 years it is finally going to happen on 11 May 2020: the unveiling of this memorial. The locals have been active for this for a few years now. Last year, for the first time, they organized a memorial service. A massive turnout, showing how vivid the memories still are in the stricken families and with local residents.
Also much interest for the book “Bommen op de Blauwburgwal” by Fred Geukes Foppen, who had been researching causes of death in death certificates of that time. He came across these records with “bomb hit” as cause of death. Quite surprising, so early in the war, and in a residential area. The big bombardment of Rotterdam had taken place 4 days later. It caused him to dig deeper.

For the funding we need your donation.
The total sum we need for the memorial stone and the unveiling service will add up to about €10.000.

Received until 29 Feb 2020 €8874.-

You can transfer your donation straight to the bankaccount of Wijkcentrum d’Oude Stadt:
NL03 INGB 0004 8718 88. Description: Blauwburgwal memorial. Also add extra details like name and relationship (see NOTE below)
in case you need it: the BIC number of the ING Bank is INGBNL2A
From abroad this may be costly, for you and/or for us.

OR: (much easier)

You can donate via iDeal (only for holders of a Dutch bank account), or Creditcard.
Your payment will go to the Wijkcentrum d’Oude Stadt via Mollie. That will appear on your bank- or creditcard statement. Mollie supports all the world’s leading credit card brands. Currently it supports Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Cartes Bancaires and CartaSi.

Select project Blauwburgwal

Fill in the amount you want to donate

Select the method of payment (iDeal or Creditcard) and click Doneren

Follow the instructions, e.g. your creditcard details and authorise.

Project

Bedrag () *

iDEAL
Card

NOTE Using iDEAL or Creditcard you can’t at the same time convey any extra details to us. We only receive the name of the holder of the bankaccount you use. Therefore, if you would like your name listed as a contributor in a different way, or if you want to remain anonymous, please send your choice in a short email to wijkcentrum@oudestadt.nl subject Blauwburgwal memorial. If you don’t send an email, we use the name as in the bank statement. We also would like you to add your reason for donating, e.g. (former-)resident of the area, or -if applicable – how you are related to a victim or survivor.