30,000 Dutch Civilians Died In German Bombing?

On the 14 May 1940, The bombing of Rotterdam.
The German ultimatum ordering the Dutch commander of Rotterdam to cease fire was delivered to him at 10:30 a.m. on May 14, 1940. At 1:22 p.m. the Netherlands possessed 1 tank, 124 outdated aircraft and 280,000 soldiers, while Germany had 759 tanks, 830 modern aircraft and 750,000 soldiers at their disposal.German bombers set the whole inner city of Rotterdam ablaze, killing around 30.000 of its inhabitants it was estimated by the News, others claim 700, to 1000+. The Dutch city was heavily bombed on the fourth day to hasten the Dutch surrender.

Rundstedt's Army Group A (the 12th Army) moves through southern Belgium, with a Panzer corps under Guderian moving through the Ardennes hills and forests. The French, taken by surprise at armour coming through the Ardennes, wait for them to halt at the River Meuse. Rommel's 7th Panzer Division crosses the river Meuse. The same day, all of Guderian's Panzers are across and racing through the open country beyond, with ('Stuka') dive-bombers clearing opposition before them. German troops, the 12th Army, forces the front at Sedan.

Bombing of Rotterdam: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article

Reference for Rotterdam Blitz - Search.com


On the Morning of May 14, Hitler issued his "Weisung" Nr. 11. Concerning the Dutch theatre of operations he says the following:

"The resistance capability of the Dutch army has proved to be stronger than expected. Political as well as military reasons demand that this resistance is broken as soon as possible. It is the task of the army to capture the Fortress Holland by committing enough forces from the south, combined with an attack on the east front. In addition to that the air force must, while weakening the forces that up till now have supported the 6th Army, facilitate the rapid fall of the Fortress Holland."

Nazi Conspiracy & Aggression
Volume I Chapter IX
Aggression Against Belgium, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg
(Part 4 of 6) ​

Aggression Against Belgium, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg

 

Er, 30,000 BUILDINGS, not people!
Even Wiki gives about 1,000 deaths.
See: brandgrens

The bombardment on Rotterdam of May 14th was carried out by approximately 90 Heinkel bombers of the squadron 'Kampfgeschwader 54 Totenkopf' (KG 54), under the command of 'Geschwaderkommodore' Oberst Walter Lackner. Between 13.27 hours and 13.40 hours the big surface bombardment took place on the centre of Rotterdam, Kralingen and the north of Rotterdam. More than 30.000 buildings were destroyed. In total 800 to 900 people died as a result of this bombardment.

 

The attack on Rotterdam was to have very unfortunate consequences for the German civilian population, for it was this act which finally convinced the British government that the Nazi leadership had no quarms in bombing civilian targets when it suited them, and that the existing British policy of avoiding targets near civilian areas in the hope that Germany would do the same was futile, and so on the day after this attack the RAF was finally given permission to attack military targets near or in civilian areas in Germany

 

I made a Mistake, well many sources say it's 30,000 and I read also 657, 750, 800-900 ++++??

Although exact numbers are not known, it is estimated that between 800 and 900 people were killed in the raid and some 80,000 people were made homeless. Around 1 square mile (2.6 square kilometres) of the city was almost completely levelled. 24,978 homes, 24 churches, 2,320 stores, 775 warehouses and 62 schools were destroyed.

Reference for Rotterdam Blitz - Search.com


This is the Problem Why I marked 30,000
portraying Rotterdam as a city mercilessly destroyed by terror bombing without regard to civilian life, with 30,000 dead lying under the ruins.

Bombing of Rotterdam: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article

 

This is from WIKKI

Western news agencies grossly exaggerated the event for propaganda purposes, portraying Rotterdam as a city mercilessly destroyed by terror bombing without regard to civilian life, with 30,000 dead lying under the ruins.[50]^ Hinchliffe, 2000. p. 43


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotterdam_Blitz



International news agencies vastly exaggerated the events, portraying Rotterdam as a city mercilessly destroyed by terror bombing without regard for civilian life, with 30,000 dead lying under the ruins. [63] Neither claim was true.

Wapedia - Wiki: Strategic bombing during World War II

 

Spaniard,

I would suggest there is a language barrier at play here. Please look up "exaggerated", "portray" and "propaganda" in Espagnol. The last line here clinches it: "Neither claim was true"

The "many sources" you're quoting are all saying the number of 30,000 killed was propaganda.

 

Are you joking or just full of IT! What kind of Up-LaLa, Wing Wang is this Even though English is not even my second Language,
I have a Clue on the meaning of those words En Español "Propaganda" LOL.

That's right and I added it to the post that both Claims are questionable.

well I found many sources other then Wiki that Claim that estimated accounts was 30,000 or 25,000 with NO mention that it was a propaganda.


A Memoir by Jeff R. Noordermeer

The destruction of Rotterdam by German forces

We sat on the first floor with some other neighbors and listened to the radio about the latest news. We just waited for the German bombers to come. My mother was holding my sister who was just six months old, and I carried a pillowcase filled with baby clothes and some family papers and pictures. As we all prayed nervously for God's help, the noise of planes in the air could be clearly heard everywhere. All of us were sure it would be the end of our lives.

My mother told me years later that I asked her: "Mom, are we going to die now?" Not too far from us we could hear the fire bombs being dropped, as the front and back doors of the storage room kept swinging open due to the air pressure. Then suddenly bombs started to fall around us. Everything started to shake as if there was a big earthquake. We though the whole building would collapse on top of us. Then there was a direct bomb hit on our building. I will never forget that moment in my life for as long as I live. As my mother held us close together, the whole building shook back and forth and then it started to collapse completely. We all thought we were going to die.


For two and a half hours the Germans kept bombing the city. From twelve o'clock noon until two-thirty a relentless rain of death poured from the skies. After the bombing was over, more than 26,000 buildings lay in wreckage. Nearly 25,000 men, women and children lay dead in the street or buried under the masses of rubble. Eyewitnesses who escaped from Rotterdam reported that even after streets had been cleared of their heaps of dead, there was still an average of 1,800 bodies a day being dragged from the ruins for a period of seven days. That the Germans were trying to wash the blood strains of guilt from their hands was proved by the tight censorship they placed on the graveyard city.

The aerial bombing of Rotterdam by German forces

 

The figure of 30000 is totally wrong;the number of victims is some 8OO dead ;800 is the official number(mentioned some days ago on the Dutch tehevision)

 

there was already the bombardment of Warsaw

 

The British historian Alistair Horne puts the death toll at around 900 but also reports the 30.000 figure as comming from a statement from the Dutch Foreign Minister so a pretty official source even if he had bad information. If that's true it's no wonder the 30.000 figure survived so long.

IMO the 900 figure is more consistent with a raid by a single Gruppen.

According to some sources the Germans actually attemped to recall the planes due to negotiation having moved forward but bad communications prevented the planes from aborting the raid.

 

I know of other Civilian Bombings in WWII that accounts given where finally discovered that the Figures were incorrect.

So 97 tons of Bombs +++ drooped on the City.

Estimated around 30,000 buildings completely level and destroyed and only 1,000 just say, died?

My question would be, if 80,000 survive and made Homeless that type of immense Bombing and German ground Assault?
They had no serious Bombs Shelters++ were did they hide or sheltered themselves from the Bombs+++?? In the resulting
fire 1.1 square miles (2.8 km) of the city center were devastated, including 21 churches and 4 hospitals.

On May the 14th The final casualty list of the Dutch Army was: 2,890 killed, 6,889 wounded, and 29 missing. The Royal Guard
alone lost 80% of its strength.

Maybe not 30,000 and I'm sure not a 1,000 had to be more.

 

63 pictures of the destroyed buildings

Foto's Rotterdam, voor, tijdens en na 14 Mei 1940

 

Indeed, but Britain was so fearful of an all out bombing campaign that they tried to pretend that it didn't happen, but the attack on the neutral city of Rotterdam with its claimed massive casualties was an act which couldn't be ignored

 

I have read somewhere on a Dutch site that the abort order to the Luftwaffe was s heard by some units and that at least a couple of aircraft returned to the base without bombing the ill fated city.

 

Thanks for the Link Interesting Pictures Skipper! I also found an articale that mention a few planes came
back with out dropping their Load.

Now I found an interesting article on many Allied Bombings on Civilians.

I don't know about the Author?? Sound very German Sided, But gives the other perspective.
Since it's on Google page and I found the Pictures intreasting.

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14.Feb.2003​

Dresden 13/14. Feb.1945​

Many thnx for the English translation, by Rainer Rohde & Josh Jagdfeld​

​

Google Image Result for http://www.pilotenbunker.de/Extrablatt/dresden_leiche.jpg

 

It's typical of the stuff put out by neo-nazis. It seeks to equate the holocaust and bombing of Germany to make out that Germany was no worse than the allies.

To do that it tells lies about how the bombing started, about the number of casualties etc.