#Story
Haalderen in the front line
After the failure of Operation Market Garden in September 1944, the Allies wanted to advance towards Arnhem via the Betuwe. In the process, a fierce battle erupted for the village of Haalderen inn which the German troops fought tooth and nail to defended themselves.
Only on 4 October 1944, after a huge amount of fire, did the British manage to take the almost completely destroyed village. Residents had lived in air-raid shelters for over 14 days and the church offered shelter to several hundred civilians.
The residents fled en masse, with most going to the already liberated Bemmel. As the situation was not safe there either, people moved further south via the river Waal.
Around 3 and 4 December 1944, a new battle broke out in the empty Haalderen. The village was successfully defended by the British against attacking German troops. For several more months Haalderen remained a depopulated village in the firing line. It was not until early April 1945 that the front moved again. The Allies then captured the entire eastern part of the Over-Betuwe.
The resilience of the evacuees proved unbroken and rebuilding began immediately after their return.