jmlynch

I am going to drive with a friend from Amsterdam to Munich in September. I am interested in trying to incorporate some WWII sites on the way and wondered if anyone had any suggestions?

The_lonely_traveler

I have a couple of suggestions for ya. The first is a bit off-route, more to the north but still worth the detour: former Durchgangslager Westerbork (concentration camp). Especially in the early morning, in damp weather conditions or in the fog this place will creep you out! http://www.kampwesterbork.nl/


In the East of the Netherlands, exactly on your route from Amsterdam to Muenchen: Arnhem and the small town of Oosterbeek (scene of the movie "a bridge too far", does "operation market garden" ring a bell? This is where it was stopped by the Germans!). Do take a walk through the woods near the bridge (lots of scars on trees & houses), make sure to visit the famous Oosterbeek church and the airborne museum.
http://www.airbornemuseum.nl/language/en

If you are there on September 17, there's a large parachute dropping on the Ginkelse Heide (Ginkel Heath) between Oosterbeek and Ede which is very impressive - an absolute must-see. Lots of old cars, planes and other stuff too.
http://www.market-garden.info/operat...ramme_2011.htm

A bit more to the south, Margraten (third largest US cemetery in Europe) is worth a visit.

hetismij

Another overlooked concentration camp, which can easily be combined with either Westerbork (where, amongst others Anne Frank was initially imprisoned) or Ginkelse Heide/Arnhem/Ossterbeek is Kamp Amersfoort. Nearby is the moving Russian war cemetery.

http://www.kampamersfoort.nl/indexuk.html

Not a WW2 site, but interesting nonetheless is the Dutch airforce museum at Soesterberg. Many Americans were stationed at Soesterberg, which was also the first military airfield in the Netherlands. The airfield is now closed, but the museum is open and free! Could also be combined with Kamp Amersfoort and the others, as it is just down the road from Kamp Amersfoort.

http://www.militaireluchtvaartmuseum...se/223/english

Overloon in Brabant has a moving war museum, site of the heaviest tank battle in the Netherlands. http://www.oorlogsmuseum.nl/en/?PHPS...9bb04d7dd2456f

Nearby is a Commonwealth war cemetery.

The_lonely_traveler

I live "around the corner" from Kamp Amersfoort. I didn't mention it because there's not much of interest to non-Dutch and the site itself is quite underwhelming. It was, after all, just a small camp and most of it has been lost in history, pretty quickly after WWII.

Soesterberg is nice, but as you write: it's not a WWII site.

I agree that Overloon may certainly be worth a visit too though!

Cowboy1968

Upstream the Rhine from Cologne/Bonn, the Remagen bridge and the museum could also be a worthwhile stopover.
http://www.bruecke-remagen.de/index.htm

hetismij

Lonely_traveller - where are you? I'm in Soest.

The_lonely_traveler

@hetismij: Vathorst, Amersfoort.

Strange, isn't it, that we do know so little about German sites? I mean, Dachau is very close to Munchen but we all fail to mention that...

hetismij

Small world . My son lives in Amersfoort - right by De Flint.

I know what you mean about the German sites. I admit to being very ignorant about Germany all together. I hope to remedy that once my husband retires and we spend more time in Europe.