Then and now (4) Utrecht liberated, 1945-2025
On May 5 the Dutch celebrate the liberation from the 5-year German occupation during the Second World War. The Nazis were ousted from the city of Utrecht on May 7, 1945, when British and Canadian troops (together known as “The Polar Bears”) disarmed them. Here are some pictures from my mother’s photo albums, taken on that day or shortly thereafter. My grandparents lived in a big house by a park, and the current owners were so kind to let me in and re-take some pictures. Click or tap on the pictures for a slide show. On a phone or tablet, then tap on the white dot on the lower right to see the full caption.
My mother, then 15 years old, and her 12-year old brother posing on a British BSA M20 motorcycle.
My grandmother on their balcony overlooking the street and the park.
2x 3 pictures taken from this balcony.
Celebrations broke out throughout the city, and several parades were organized. An especially big one was held on June 6, exactly one year after D-Day, the start of the liberation in Europe. I have been able to locate most of the places were these pictures were taken. I am not certain that my grandfather actually took these pictures, as I have found one of them in the files of the Utrecht Archives. I have no idea how they ended up in my mother’s photo album.
On May 5, 2025, as part of the celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the liberation, a small parade of old military vehicles was held in the city.
This particular place I was able to locate because of the old Peugeot dealer Gebr. Nefkens (the Nefkens Brothers). A later version of this garage on the Biltstraat can be seen on a photograph in the Utrecht Archive, on which also the building behind it can be seen. The garage is gone now, as is the building to the left of it.
In April 1945, the Germans inundated large parts of the province of Utrecht. A low-lying traffic hub, called “De Berekuil” was one of the flooded areas. The building with the 2 towers in the background was a specialized eye hospital at the time. It is still there but is now obscured by trees. The ambulance is still visible, though 😀 . The water didn’t stop the Allies of course, and to honor them the walls of the bicycle underpasses are decorated with polar bears.
Back to the celebrations on May 5, 2025. The motorcycles in the little parade were the same BSA type M20 as the one my mother and uncle were sitting on 80 years ago. Now adorned with a Polar Bear emblem.
The Mayor of Utrecht spoke on the steps of City Hall on May fifth. She didn’t attract as large a crowd as the Mayor did on May 7, 1945 when he returned to office. But there were still a lot of people!
As a small addendum to the May 5 festivities, a celebration of the liberation by Polar Bears was held on May 7. We have a sculpture of a polar bear to commemorate this event.
