Did the Americans Bomb a Dutch City BY MISTAKE?

On 22 February 1944, Nijmegen was bombed by American bombers. The bombs destroyed an area running from the Valkhof to the station area in the west. Nearly 800 people were killed in the process. The occupying forces and the NSB tried to capitalise on the dismay among the population by insisting that it wasn’t them, but the Allies, who’d caused this destruction.

For long it was believed the Bombing of Nijmegen was done by mistake. The Allied pilots mistook Nijmegen for a German city. Later research showed this wasn't the case: they wanted to hit the Nijmegen railway station. To be frank: more Dutch citizens died because of Allied bombings than of German bombings. But overall the Dutch population detested the German occupiers and its collaborators because of their brute force, deportations and caused shortages, especially in the latter stages of the war. Allied bombs were generally seen as the nessesary sacrifice for liberation. Nijmegen would sustain more damage during the fighting in September.