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<p>Nijmegen was liberated in September 1944 by American paratroopers and the XXX British Corps as part of Operation Market Garden. Because the Battle of Arnhem was lost to the Allies, Nijmegen became a front city. German troops would bombard the city for months before the Allies finally pushed the Germans back in February 1945.</p><p>Burials of Allied dead began as early as December 1944 at the then nearby Pensionaat Jonkerbosch. The approximately 400 already buried dead were exhumed in 1947 and reburied in the current cemetery.</p><p>Jonker Bos War Cemetery rests soldiers from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland and Russia. In addition, there are graves of 98 unknown servicemen. </p><div data-youtube-video=""><iframe class="video" width="640" height="480" allowfullscreen="false" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kNhHnLLwGTU" start="0"></iframe></div><div data-youtube-video=""><iframe class="video" width="640" height="480" allowfullscreen="false" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u2suomTYpFw" start="0"></iframe></div>

The Netherlands

The Jonkerbos War Cemetery in Nijmegen contains the graves of 1,543 military personnel who were killed on Dutch soil between September 3 1939 and May 5 1945. Those buried here are of the following nationalities: United Kingdom (1,385, of whom 96 unidentified), Canada (88, of whom 1 unidentified), Australia (34), New Zealand (21) Poland (6), Belgium (5), The Netherlands (1), Russia (1), and not identified (2).

The place where the Jonkerbos War Cemetery now lies, was where the American 504th Para Infantry Regiment assembled to prepare for the crossing of the river Waal on September 20, 1944. The texts on the gravestones were chosen by relatives of the fallen.

In the cemetery stands a 'Cross of Sacrifice', with a bronze sword. The cross symbolises the soldiers who died in the Netherlands during the Second World War.

Jonkerbos War Cemetery

Burgemeester Daleslaan 35, 6532 CL Nijmegen, Pays-Bas

Photos