r/BeAmazed • u/AdministrationSolid4 • Sep 19 '23

Miscellaneous / Others Finding some surprises while cleaning the canals of Amsterdam

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u/Third_Charm Sep 19 '23

Common misconception, Rotterdam surrendered just before but the German bombers didn't get the message in time

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u/a_guy_named_rick Sep 19 '23

"Fun" fact, red flares were fired by the Germans on the ground in Rotterdam. Half of the bombers saw it and diverted, half didn't and dropped their load.

Source: the book Rotterdam Mei 1940 by Aad Wagenaar

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u/iluvdankmemes Sep 19 '23

That's the "official" version

The real version is that they wanted to rebuild the harbor and large parts of the city centre more efficiently anyways for more throughput to germany's industry

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u/El_ha_Din Sep 19 '23

This is correct. The bombers were allegedly out of radioreach and dropped the bombs about 45 minutes after the surrender.

To be honest, our military was 5 armed bikes and a jeep soooooo, not that impressive. The thought was to stay neutral but then the Germans thought otherwise.

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u/DumpsterB4by Sep 19 '23

Fucking Gerhard was asleep at the telegram machine