Today is exactly 1 week ago that Nijmegen was bombed by 5 aircraft, during the day at half past one. They came in a dive from the NE, flew low over the city and dropped fire bombs, a type of high-explosive bombs, 20 Eng. pounds [9.0 kg] and slightly heavier bombs, estimated at approximately 50 kg. Of the latter type about 30 were dropped in Hees between the railway lines and the fields opposite our house.
The city has suffered most severely from the fire, and the population from the explosive bombs, which fell in droves. On Saturday 400 victims were already identified and found and buried; in the hospitals are 250 to 300 wounded and the number of missing persons can be estimated at 400. One speaks of 1100 victims.
This number is so great, because the previous air-raid warning, which had lasted one hour from 12.15 to 13.15 had just been cancelled and everybody, including schoolchildren were on their way home when the second air-raid siren sounded, but this time followed immediately with the bombardment.
Nikel and Carleen were on their way home and with the tram in the Krayenhoff Avenue. Nikel had got off at that stop and was on the way to the city, because in the previous air-raid warning, he had left his school satchel, when the aircraft arrived. He fled into a smithy and was safe there, although the bombs dropped close by.
Carleen and the daughter of the [Protestant] minister were taken from the tram into the street by a girl and when the bombs dropped, were pressed flat on the street by the girl. This was their salvation. Among the rubble and dust she then walked home, while many children from the tram, who ran to a butcher's shop were buried and died in the rubble of the shop. One or 2 bombs fell on the houses near the tram stop.
The whole bombing raid lasted 20 to 30 seconds. Huug and Annelies were supposed to have taken the tram at 1 o'clock to school, but thought that it had not arrived because of the first air-raid warning and therefore missed the tram. Also adjacent to this tram in the Old Heessche Avenue a bomb hit and caused many broken windows.
Leny was only worried when no tram came and she saw the smoke from the fire. She then cycled to meet the children, but only saw Carleen covered in dust. She obviously knew nothing of Nikel, so you can understand that Leny kept cycling to find Nikel. But he had gone to the city to pick up his satchel, and came back through the Voorstads Avenue. Leny did not find him until he was close to home. Thank God the children have received no injury, and so far as we can ascertain no nervous shock.
Leny lost 15 paintings in the fire at Pollman in the Broerstraat including very good portraits of the sculptor Maris, the cellist Franke, and Betty, still-lives and treasured pieces, such as the plumber's devil [?], the fish (for the meal) and others. This series ended a period in her life as a painter, and thus it is very unfortunate that they burned. The day before Leny removed two still-lifes for a friend in The Hague and then in her mind said farewell to those remaining paintings. So she had a kind of premonition or inner certainty that Nikel was still alive when she was looking for him the next day.
I had been travelling that day and came back in the afternoon when the town was well alight, including the station which was hit in the waiting room, a house on the station square, two hotels in front of the station, and a train at the station. There were thus hundreds of victims.
At night at two o'clock the fire was virtually finished. What has been burnt or collapsed can be read in the newspapers of this period with the special report of 4 pages, closely printed. Normally, they appear 1 x per day. Amongst others 4 churches, and the shop of Vroom and Dreesman on the Market Square [were destroyed].
Meanwhile the war continues. In Russia, the Russians move slowly to the West, in the Far East the Americans capture small islands from the Japanese and on other fronts, stagnation or retreat of the English and Americans (Italy and Burma) and the depletion of economic life is increasingly palpable. Clothes for children and adults, only [available] for victims of the bombings, and so with practically everything except food. In that respect we are still much better off than Aunt Annetje [his older sister] in France, who lives somewhere in 2 rooms in the countryside; she only sees her husband on Saturday and Sunday, and in January she got no more than 50 grams of butter and fat in total per person. We still get 20 grams for adults and 25 grams for children per day.
The Germans and the English are talking flat out about the coming invasion, but after the unsuccessful landing in Italy, the enthusiasm has waned a bit. In our country, the islands of South Holland and Zeeland, and the area Zeeland's Flanders [Zeeuws Vlaanderen] have been partially evacuated and inundated, as well as the western [coastal] part of North Brabant and a strip in North Holland.
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