Unique project in the centre of Nijmegen

The project initiator and owner of Studio 0404, Bregje Jaspers, talks about the heavy bombing that was carried out by the Allies. The question about whether it was a mistake remains unanswered: did the pilots drop their bombs on purpose? Was the plan to actually target the station and make it unusable, or in the chaos of the failed mission over Germany, did the pilots think they were flying over Kleve? Dropping bombs was not the same 70 years ago; today`s precision technology was not available at that time. 

In any case, that 22 February 1944 was a black day for Nijmegen; and the fact remains that approximately 800 people lost their lives that day, when World War II was drawing to a close. 
 

Account Manager Sven Westerholt (Bijlard Int), Marcel Tiemessen (Holland Laminati), Theo Rikken (naamborden.nl) and Bregje Jaspers stand before a few nameplates that have just been attached. The Nijmegen Central Station, where most of the victims fell in 1944, can be seen in the background.

Jaspers talks about her endeavour to give each victim a place using nameplates along the route: the route Brandhaarden Bombardement Nijmegen 22 February 1944. This is a 2.5 km long route that runs along the worst-hit places in Nijmegen, and that can be followed with a guide.

 

Theo Rikken from, “naamborden.nl”, a company specialising in making nameplates such as those you find next to your front door, is collaborating in the project.

But how are you going to attach these nameplates to ensure they stay in place despite the weather and wind? Rikken took his question to Holland Laminati, a supplier of Bijlard Professional Adhesives for many years. Owner Marcel Tiemessen advised Rikken to use Bijlard CS60. An MS-polymer-based adhesive that has rock-solid glueing properties. 

 

Besides Bregje Jaspers, co-initiator Rob Jaspers (journalist for de Gelderlander) and the Gilde Nijmegen [Nijmegen Guild] are also involved in the Nijmegen project.