Flashback

This painting shows the new Arnhem Central station. Bert visited this station in October 2022. Three people are depicted in the foreground of the painting. Two travelers who have just arrived are informed by the third person in the white cap about the history of Arnhem and the station. In the background are two people who look back on the past. Outside you can see the contours of the houses that were heavily damaged by the bombing of Arnhem and in the back left the paratroopers who fought during the battle of Arnhem land.
On February 22, 1944, 57 people were killed in Arnhem, after American bombers accidentally bombed a number of Dutch cities, including Arnhem. A total of 86 houses were destroyed in Arnhem.
The Battle of Arnhem was an airborne landing and battle during World War II that took place in and around the city of Arnhem from 17 to 25 September 1944, as part of Operation Market Garden. It is, after the Battle of the Scheldt, the largest operation on Dutch territory during the Second World War. It was largely a failure for the Allies and the Netherlands because the bridge at Arnhem over the Rhine could not be taken.
The operation began at 11:30 am on Sunday morning, September 17, 1944, with a preliminary bombardment intended to hit German barracks in Ede and Arnhem.
In the afternoon nearly 5,200 men of the British 1st Airborne Division landed, partly by parachute and partly in gliders, on terrains at a great distance from Arnhem.
Arnhem Central Station is an important hub in the eastern Netherlands. It is also a transfer hub for city and regional transport. The current station building is the fourth station on that site. This building, designed by Ben van Berkel, was completed in 2015. In 2016, Arnhem Centraal was the 14th largest station in the Netherlands in terms of passenger numbers, with around 40,000 passengers boarding and alighting from NS trains per day (not including passengers from other rail operators).
The platforms are accessible via a corridor/hall under the tracks, with an entrance on the south side, and on the west side via a traverse above the tracks, with an entrance on the north side (Sonsbeek side).
At the official opening of the renovated station, the name was changed from Arnhem station to Arnhem Central station.