Monument at the Drie Dennen
The monument at the Drie Dennen in Velden commemorates the evacuation of the city's inhabitants in January 1945. After a successful advance through northern France and Belgium, the Allies wanted to conquer a bridgehead over the major rivers in the Netherlands with Operation Market Garden in September 1944. Although the Americans managed to capture the bridges at the Maas and the Maas-Waalkanaal, the British paratroopers' attack on the Rhine bridge at Arnhem failed. On September 19, the American advance in South Limburg also stalled. In the following months, a heavy and bloody battle erupted in this front line, in which the civilian population also suffered heavily. In the evening of January 13, 1945, the inhabitants of the municipality of Velden were given an ultimatum: the next morning everyone had to leave for the German town of Straelen, where trains would be waiting to take the evacuees to the northern provinces. During the grueling journey of eleven kilometers to Straelen, the people of Velden were constantly chased by the Grüne Polizei. In Straelen, the evacuees were put into cattle wagons and sent north.
Ommetje Venlo
Ommetje Venlo 13,0 Km is part of the Hiking Trail Limburg Liberation Route Europe. Discover the most important WWII locations in Venlo.