15 Provinciehuis

The Provinciehuis building’s (County Hall) caretaker Van der Lee later recorded his memories of the first days of the Battle of Arnhem. The building at Markt 6, between Hofstraat and Marktstraat, was badly da- maged towards the end of those September days in 1944. German soldiers had settled into various buildings around the Markt. The Paleis van Justitie (Palace of Justice) at Markt 3 and the Joods Ouden- liedenhuis Beth-Miklot Lekiznoh (Jewish Elderly Folks Home) at Markt 5 were set on fire by the Germans on 19 September. Both buildings burned to the ground and formed a burning barrier to the British parachutists at the bridge, who tried to breakout on the evening of 20 September. That evening it was obvious that the situation for the British was untenable. Many wounded were evacuated during a two-hour ceasefire. Later that night it was decided to withdraw from the Rijkswaterstaat building to the large buildings at the corner of the Markt and Marktstraat: the Rijksarchief (State Archive), caretaker Van der Lee’s house and the Provincie- huis. These buildings were still virtually undamaged, ideal for awaiting the arrival of the British XXX Corps from Nijmegen. The buildings were fired on by the Germans. Early in the morning of Thursday 20 September the last British were taken prisoner in the Provinciehuis.

Recollections of caretaker Van der Lee Evacuation of the wounded The final actions Capture Destruction Commemorations

Recollections of caretaker Van der Lee The caretaker of the Provinciehuis building, Mr A.C.C. van der Lee, lived in the house next door, at Markt 7 (towards the Sabelspoort, an old city gate), and after the war he wrote about the first three days of the battle [1]: Sunday 17 September 1944 “After a jumpy Sunday morning during which air-raid sirens sounded on several occasions, the first bombs fell on Arnhem at about 1.30 pm. Besides the members of my family, Messrs Feite and De Groot were present in the Provinciehuis at that time as members of the air defence ser- vice. A few minutes after the bombing we were joined by the Queen’s Commissioner Mr S. Ba- ron van Heemstra and Mr Ripperda Wiertsma.” [Mr. J.V. Rijpperda Wierdsma] “On assignment from Mr Heemstra I went by bicycle to the most heavily hit areas in the city to report on the consequences of the bombing. On the Markt and in Koningstraat many Germans were wandering about like orphans, their hair and clothing covered in dust and rubbish: they must have been in the Willemskazerne (barracks) when it was hit. German soldiers were already manning slit trenches at the Dam and the bridge ramp. Not long after I had arrived back at the Provinciehuis we were joined by Mr and Mrs De Graaf and Mr Van de Wollenberg. Messrs Feite and De Groot left the building at about 5 pm, and since everything had remained quiet in the late afternoon we had tea together in the garden. There was a feeling of anxiety and at the same time delighted tension in the air at what might be about to happen. At about six o’ clock Mr Schade van Westrum from Oosterbeek rang us and gave an enthusiastic eyewitness account of the arrival of the parachutists. We could hear the cheers of the population over the telephone.

1 The tension increased and by now dusk was falling, so we had to think of lighting. The ground floor of the building was protected against random shrapnel splinters by doors and shutters, as were the windows of my house. This made a good blackout but it also excluded daylight. The electricity was cut off so we had to resort to candle lanterns, of which we had plenty. No one expected a lengthy isolation so we made excessive use of the candles which gave the living room a festive appearance. Luckily we had enough provisions in stock to care for our family and its five extra ‘members’ with ease. And so evening and night arrived. During the evening we received a ‘phone call from Mr Fels BSc. from Nijmegen I believe. As a joke I asked him if he would like to be connected to the light network. Nobody thought of sleep that night and we repeatedly scanned the Markt through the spy-hole in the front door. It would be about midnight when we saw strange shadows walking across the Markt, and small cars (jeeps). Some men tried the garden gate, but it was locked and they carried on. We dared not call out because we didn’t know if they were friend or foe. At approximately 2 am we heard heavy gunfire nearby, and in order to see what was going on the men followed me up onto the roof by the flagpole. What we saw was both frightening and fan- tastic. A battle had begun around the bridge and the tracer bullets from either side put on a spectacular show. All housing and site huts on the recently re-opened bridge were on fire. Pro- jectiles whistled past and over our heads, making us scurry back downstairs. The night passed in anxious tension.” The second day “On Monday morning 18 September 1944 we saw groups of captured Germans being led away by the Tommies across the Markt, jeered by the inhabitants of the Markt. Commissioner Van Heemstra went to his office on the first floor in expectation that the commander of the British troops would wish to report to the Provinciehuis as soon as he could. For some months now four horses from the German supply department had been stabled in wholesaler J. Stam’s warehouse in Hofstraat. Mr Van Heemstra asked me to go there via the back gate in Hofstraat and, taking great care, see if it was possible to get the animals back to safety in the courtyard. When I cau- tiously opened the warehouse door it looked as if all the captured Germans had been brought there and were being guarded by the British. Of course I had to explain what I was doing there after which I was given British chocolate and cigarettes: I handed these out to the ladies and gentlemen on my return to the building. In return I took them some crates of tomatoes from the seven tons which the united greengrocers had stored in the courtyard. They had been stored outside so that they would keep longer. The Monday morning went by in relative peace. At about 2 pm Mr Van Heemstra left the Provin- ciehuis at our insistence to return to his family; later this turned out to have been a good decisi- on. There was heavy fighting in the afternoon; we repeatedly saw small groups of British edging warily along the houses, then run past the Sabelspoort towards Eusebiusplein, only to come back shortly afterwards followed by the Germans. They had positioned machineguns at the cor- ners of Markt-Turfstraat and Markt-Walburgstraat, from where they could cover the entire Markt; some dead remained in the Markt. The Dutch tricolour fluttered from the houses of the Ingenhousz and Speiksma families. Towards evening the Germans broke a way through the walls of the tax office and the home for Israëlitische Ouden van Dagen [Joods Oudenliedenhuis; Jewish Elderly Folks Home] was already partially burnt down. Because various windows on the Hofstraat side of the [Provinciehuis] building had been shot out and it was not unthinkable that sparks could blow in, we tried to take down the curtains or twist them behind the central heating pipes to prevent fire in the building. In this attempt I received a volley through the windows from British soldiers in Dr. Niekerk’s garden: they probably took me for a German because of the fireman’s helmet I was wearing. Later, together with Mr Ripperda Wiertsma, I managed to get the curtains down.

2 And so we passed our last night in the Provinciehuis. Mr Kuntze rang to give us some encoura- gement and asked where the glow of fires came from that could be seen hanging over the city. Due to our blackout we knew nothing about a glow of fires, but when we went to the front of the building we were horrified to see that a large part of the Markt was in flames. Firstly, the section from Holland’s grocery shop to Kappers’ paint company was burning. It was a dreadful sea of fire. The front wall of the tall Caderius van Veen premises, at the time a storage place for household articles belonging to the Willemsen company, toppled forward with a tremendous crash, causing all the floors on the Markt side to tilt. The stock stored there - pots, pans, pails etc, - slid with a thunderous roar on to the Markt. The Germans were bringing up an artillery piece in the direction of Marktstraat, close to the front of the Commissioner’s house; it was being manhandled by eight men or so when all at once the front of that house collapsed too, right on top of the gun crew. The last we heard were cries of: “Hilfe, hilfe Sanitäter” [Help, help; Medic]. Later the rest of the Markt caught fire; it was a magnificent but terrible sight. We were still in the building, although some people were becoming extremely nervous. No one dared rest and the rifle and shell fire was heavy. It sounded so close that at first we thought there was also fighting in the courtyard.” Tuesday “Finally, Tuesday 19 September dawned. Messrs Van de Wollenberg, De Graaf and Mrs De Graaf wanted to try leaving the building. It became a little quieter around 8 pm so they attempted it, leaving via the front door under a white flag of truce. Mr Ripperda Wiertsma and my family remained. We then made a short tour of the building and even laid out fire hoses in the attics, totally unaware of the extent of the danger we were in. At about 9 am Mr Van de Wollenberg rang, advising us to leave the building because the situation was hopeless. At eleven o’clock, having first got together some underwear, we left too with my daughter leading the way with a white flag. We went out through the front door, locking it behind us. At the corner of the Grote Kerk [Eusebius Church] the Germans had just set up a heavy gun aimed at the Provinciehuis; the huge holes made by the shells from this piece could be seen by one and all after the fighting. We had got out just in time. In Koningstraat we were stopped by an SS unit whose commander wanted to know where we had come from. When I replied: “From the Provinciehuis”, he immediately asked how many Tommies were there. We kept saying “None”, but he wouldn’t believe us. Eventually we were allowed to carry on.

The Provinciehuis in the Markt before September 1944. (Gelders Archief Collection)

3 Evacuation of the wounded

Map showing the situation around the Provinciehuis in 1944. (Copyright F. van Lunteren)

By early evening of 20 September 1944 it had be- come clear to the British parachutists at the bridge and their German opponents alike that it could not be long before the Allies were forced to surrender or withdraw. Food supplies had been exhausted some time ago, there was no longer any running water and ammunition was scarce. The last PIAT bombs had been fired that afternoon and all the anti-tank guns had been knocked out. German tanks and armoured vehicles drove around unchallenged, and the number of British wounded increased by the mi- nute because of the opponent’s shell and mortar fire. Captains James Logan and David Wright, the only two British doctors on the spot, informed Lieutenant Colonel Frost that brigade headquarters (located in the Rijkswaterstaat building) were on fire. The almost 200 wounded in the spacious cellars under the building would have to be evacuated. Frost agreed and a two-hour ceasefire was organized. The Germans sent some jeeps and plenty of soldiers to evacuate the wounded. Logan, Wright and their me- dical orderlies were also taken prisoner.

The final actions Major Freddie Gough, commander of the 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron, ordered the lightly and non-wounded soldiers to take up a new position in the Ecole de Sainte Marie (a school) at the south side of Walburgsplein. Gough himself joined soldiers from the 2nd Parachute Battalion in Hof- straat. [2] Major A.D. “Digby” Tatham-Warter, who had taken over command of the 2nd Parachute Battalion following the death of Major Wallis on 18 September, decided to use the ceasefire as an opportunity to reorganize the remnants of the battalion. Only Captain Tony Frank (although wounded) and about 20 men were left of ‘A’ Company. Captain Francis Hoyer-Miller and Lieutenant Flavell commanded the 35 remaining soldiers of ‘B’ Company. Support Company and HQ Company still totalled some 60 men between them. [3] Major Francis Tate, Lieutenants Tom Ainslie and Albert Tannenbaum from HQ Compa- ny, and Captain Stanley Panter and Lieutenant J. Monsell of Support Company, were the only officers of the two companies capable of continuing the battle. After consultations with Major Gough, Major Tatham-Warter decided to withdraw to the large buildings at the corner of the Markt and Marktstraat: the Rijksarchief, caretaker Van der Lee’s house and the Provinciehuis. These buildings were still virtually undamaged, ideal for awaiting the arrival of British XXX Corps from Nijmegen. They would try to reach the buildings via the back gardens of the houses along Marktstraat and both sides of Hofstraat. The group was split into two, one part under Major Tatham-Warter and the other under the command of Major Tate.

4 Capture The last mentioned was killed near or in the Provinciehuis building. His batman, Private Eric Robinson, succeeded in getting back to the garden of the burning battalion headquarters and was captured in the morning. Lieutenant Tom Ainslie in the same group was also unsuccessful. He and a small group of soldiers became besieged in a house in Marktstraat and were taken prisoner that night. [4] The third HQ Compa- ny officer, the Jewish Lieutenant Albert Tannenbaum, was also captured. He was wounded later on in a failed escape attempt. [5] At about 1 am Captain Eric C. O’Callaghan and his remaining engineers tried to break out to the north -west. Everything went well until they turned the corner of Hofstraat and made for the Provinciehuis and the Grote Markt. At that point German stick grenades were thrown. 25 year old Private Arthur A. Cottle was killed. He is one of the five RE soldiers from 9 Platoon whose body was never found after the war, or could not be identified. [6] Shortly after daybreak Captain O’Callaghan, who was wounded, and a number of sappers were taken prisoner in front of the Joods Oudenliedenhuis Beth-Miklot Lekiznoh at Markt 5. [7] Neither could Ma- jor Tatham-Warter’s group hold out for long, and was forced to surrender at about 5 am after the Rijksarchief and the Provinciehuis building had been hit several times [8] The British ammunition was almost spent and there was still no sign of XXX Corps, which should have arrived on Monday or Tuesday.

Destruction Of course, during the bombing of Arnhem on Sunday 17 September 1944, as a prelude to the Battle of Arnhem and the fighting in the town over the following days, much damage was done, principally in the inner city. Many photos taken after the liberation of Arnhem in April 1945 show the destruction. Nevertheless, not all photos show the damage to Arnhem from immediately after the battle. In the period of evacuation which followed, further damage to buildings was wrought for various reasons. One can think of the bombing of the Rhine Bridge on 7 October 1944, and also the allied artillery bombardments from the Betuwe during the evacuation period. And then of course there was the plun- dering by the Germans. The construction of trenches along the Rhine in the period of evacuation also added to the damage. For example, the doors of many houses were used for lining the trenches, leaving those buildings open to the elements which caused even more deterioration. After the Battle of Arnhem On Friday 22 September caretaker Van der Lee was allowed to return for a short visit to the Markt to pick up some personal possessions before the city was evacuated [9]: “The building looked awful. All the rooms and halls on the Marktstraat side were burnt out; the charred remains of Sten guns and machineguns protruded from some windows, and the condi- tion of the corridors gave the impression that heavy fighting had taken place there. The fire damage had probably been caused by phosphorous shells or flame-throwers. In the building we found the equipment of at least ten to twelve British soldiers, proving that they had forced a way into the building after we left. The main damage was caused by the bombing by the British air force at the end of September, the target being the bridge. The building was hit by five or six large bombs and the courtyard had been turned into a pond.” The bombing was by the United States Army Air Force, and it took place in October 1944 when a number of B-26 Marauders attacked the road bridge. However, the fire damage to the Provinciehuis, especially on the Markt side, was repairable. The Bureau Stadsplan (City Plan Office) designers, in conjunction with burgomaster Matser, decided otherwise: there was no longer a place for the 1926 Dutch neo-classic building. A new Provinciehuis was built in 1952 on the south side of the Markt, with a view of the Rhine. This was designed by architects J.J.M. Vegter, H. Brouwer and T.T. Deurvorst and was completed within two years. [10] The two pillars at the front of the building are of the same vin- tage. There had been a suggestion to use two of the three undamaged pillars from the Paleis van Jus- titie instead of the two new ones, but the suggestion received no response.

The destroyed Paleis van Justitie in the Markt after the liberation in 1945. (Gelders Archive/Jaquet Collection)

The Rijksarchief (State Archive) after the liberation in 1945, viewed from Marktstraat. (Gelders Archive/Jaquet Collection)

The Rijksarchief, the Eusebiuskerk and the Provinciehuis in the Markt after the liberation in 1945, viewed from Marktstraat. (Gelders Archive/ Jaquet Collection)”

The Paleis van Justitie and the Provinciehuis in the Markt after the liberation in 1945, viewed from Koningstraat. (Gelders Archive/Jaquet Col- lection)

6 Commemorations There are four commemorative items in the Provinciehuis. Stone relief sculptured tablets At the re-opening of the Provinciehuis in September 1954 two engraved stone reliefs were placed, one each side of the entrance. Both inscriptions remember the destruction of 1944 and the re-opening ten years later. The inscriptions are as follows:

left hand text right-hand text

DEVASTATA MCMXLIV RENOVATA MCMLIV DOOR AARDS GEWELD TERNEERGEBRACHT WAT GOD HERSTELT HEEFT GROTER KRACHT

(BROUGHT DOWN BY VIOLENCE ON EARTH) (WHAT GOD RESTORES HAS GREATER POWER)

Ceiling relief A ceiling relief sculpture at the entrance, designed by Mr Piet Verdonk BSc., was also unveiled in 1954. It depicts a number of shapes surrounding a Phoenix, a Greek mythological figure, which refers to ‘rising from the ashes’. Verdonk saw it as a symbol of sunrise, new life and immortality. Memorial There is still a third Dutch memorial. This stone remembers two civil servants, B. Slettenaar and J.W. Strategier, who did not survive the war: [11]

1940-1945 IN WEEMOED EN EERBIED GEDRAGEN HERINNERING AAN ONZE AMBTENAREN B. SLETTENAAR, J.W. STRATEGIER

(REMEMBERS OUR CIVIL SERVANTS B. SLETTENAAR, J.W. STRATEGIER WITH SADNESS AND RESPECT)

Sword Also in the hall of the Provinciehuis is a display cabinet containing a sword that symbolizes the spirit of the Arnhems resistance. On Saturday 22 September 1984 the sword was presented to the Gelderse Queen’s Commissioner M. de Bruijne by Major General Robert Urquhart. It was a gift from the Arn- hem 1944 Veteran’s Club, the association of allied Battle of Arnhem veterans. Urquhart, having commanded the 1st British Airborne Division in September 1944, was permitted to make the presen- tation. The sword was designed by John Arlett and made by the British company Wilkinson Sword, the same company that manufactures razor blades. Major Jan Lorys also attended the unveiling on behalf of the Polish Airborne Forces Association. [12]

7 Notes to top

[1] ‘De Laatste Dagen van het Oude Provinciehuis in September ’44’, Arnhems Dagblad, 27 August 1954. Gelders Archive, Documentation collection Second World War, inventory number 109. [2] M. Middlebrook, Arnhem. Ooggetuigenverslagen van de Slag om Arnhem (Baarn, 1994), 312-313. [3] Th. Boeree, Slag bij Arnhem (Oosterbeek, z.j.), 86-87. [4] Middlebrook, Arnhem, 315. [5] M. Sugarman, ‘Jews at the Battle of Arnhem, Sept. 1944’ (London 2006), 21. A digital version of this article was loaned to the author by Mr Sugarman. [6] P. Pronk, Airborne Engineers. The Shiny 9th (Renkum, 2001), 67-69. [7] Pronk, Airborne Engineers, 67-69. [8] Middlebrook, Arnhem, 316. [9] ‘De Laatste Dagen van het Oude Provinciehuis in September ’44’. [10] A.B.C. Schulte en A.G. Schulte, De verdwenen stad. Arnhem voor de verwoesting van 1944-1945 (Utrecht, 2004), 20. [11] J. Diender, Mo(nu)menten van Stilte (1996). Guide for the overview exhibition of all war monu- ments and memorials in the Arnhem municipality. A digital version of this guide was made available to the author by Mr Diender. [12] Arnhemsche Courant, Monday 24 September 1984.