At the starting point of this route is the landmark 'Windows on the Past', a work of art that gives an impression of the Airborne landings on 18 September 1944. At the foot of the artwork is information about the Battle of Arnhem. The walk then leads over well trodden paths through a nature reserve that is beautiful in all seasons. Forest and heathland can be admired in all their facets. You may be lucky enough to see a flock of sheep and be sure to allow time for a visit to the Heidebloemplas at information panel 2. The area around the sheep pen was originally farmland. Diagonally behind the sheepfold you can still see a piece of grassland and the wooded bank with oak trees. Due to overgrazing, the shifting sands, which were later brought under control by the construction of fences and planting of woods, were created.

The Netherlands

Schaapskooi

Heidebloemplas

Dropzone Ede

"Windows on the Past" is a six meter high steel structure. The windows depict what took place on the Ginkel Heath in 1944. The parachutist in the middle panel is life-size. In the background the droppings of manpower and equipment can be seen. Windows on the Past by designer Karin Colen was chosen as the winning design for a "landmark" on the Ginkel Heath. On September 18, 2019, a few days before the Airborne commemoration of 75 years of Operation Market Garden, the landmark was unveiled. At the foot of the landmark, more information about Operation Market Garden can be found in both Dutch and English.

Windows on the Past

With the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, the liberation of Europe began. After fierce fighting in the summer, most of France and Belgium were liberated at lightning speed in early September. On Sunday, September 17, 1944, the Allies attempted to bring a quick end to the war from Belgium with an advance through the Netherlands, Operation Market Garden. As part of this grand plan, the bridges over the Rhine near Arnhem were to be captured by British airborne units. This part of the operation has become known as "the Battle of Arnhem.The plan fails. The Allies get no further than the Betuwe. Between Arnhem and Rhenen, the Rhine becomes the front line. To the south are the Allies, on the north bank the German troops. Already during the fighting and also in the period after, British Airborne soldiers in the area of Arnhem and Oosterbeek get cut off from their own troops. Some were mistakenly dropped, such as a large group that ended up in the Mossel area. Others got lost or were unable to reach their own troops due to the fighting. There are also British soldiers, wounded or not, who managed to escape from captivity. All these men roam the Veluwe. With the help of the resistance they are hidden. In and around Ede a few hundred British soldiers were in hiding.In consultation with the Allied headquarters in Nijmegen it was decided to bring them back to their own troops in liberated area, south of the Rhine. A major escape operation was set up. During the night of October 22-23, 1944, 138 men managed to escape: Operation Pegasus I. Because not all of the Allied soldiers in hiding could join Operation Pegasus I, a second escape operation is planned in November 1944: Pegasus II. On Thursday 16 November 1944, 84 allied soldiers (including British Airborne soldiers and air force personnel) and Dutch civilians gathered in the chicken barns of the Wolfswinkel family near Lunteren. It was raining and cold. On the night of 16 to 17 November they set out. They reached the Wekeromse Zand early in the morning where the day was spent. Here six people were added to the group. The next night, from Friday 17 to Saturday 18 November, the group (now 90 people) continued towards Westerrode farm on the Ede-Otterlo road. Upon arrival the group was behind schedule. At Westerrode three more persons joined. But another group of 23 people still had not arrived. It was decided not to wait for them and continue. Via the Mosselse Veld the group headed for Planken Wambuis. On the way the British commander, Major Maguire, chose a shorter route, despite protests from the guides of the Dutch resistance. As a result, the group ended up at the Hindekamp between German artillery positions. After a German 'halt' part of the group hid in the bushes. The signal to move on did not reach everyone. Arriving at the Heidebloemallee only the vanguard of 40 men was present. When the stragglers went in the direction of the vanguard, they were fired upon. They were wounded and made prisoners of war. The leader of the rearguard, Major Coke, in the confusion ended up at the German command post and was killed there.The vanguard with Major Maguire heard this firefight as they were heading for the old State Highway 24 (now N224). As they crossed the road, the group came under fire from machine guns. With only a few light weapons, the British could do nothing in return. The men fled and hid in the woods.Of the vanguard, seventeen men were still assembled, including Major Maguire. They passed the under construction State Highway 12 (now A12) and stopped along the railroad tracks. There they were captured in the early morning of November 18, 1944.Only small groups manage to reach the Rhine. In the end, of the 116 participants, only seven men arrive safely on the southern bank of the Rhine with the American troops in liberated territory. The sad balance sheet is that during the operation two participants and one American rescuer are killed. One Dutch guide dies of his injuries a few days later. One man goes missing and is never found again. Of the 48 captured participants, twelve are wounded and three are unmasked by the Germans as resistance fighters. These resistance fighters are executed at the Woeste Hoeve on 8 March 1945. The other 64 participants manage to escape and go into hiding again.

Operation Pegasus II

With the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, the liberation of Europe began. After fierce fighting in the summer, most of France and Belgium were liberated at lightning speed in early September. On Sunday, September 17, 1944, the Allies attempted to bring a quick end to the war from Belgium with an advance through the Netherlands, Operation Market Garden. As part of this grand plan, the bridges over the Rhine near Arnhem were to be captured by British airborne units. This part of the operation became known as the "Battle of Arnhem.This plan failed. The Allies got no further than the Betuwe. Between Arnhem and Rhenen, the Rhine became the front line. To the south were the Allies, on the north bank the German troops. Increasingly larger areas along the Rhine therefore had to be evacuated by the civilian population on the orders of the Germans. As a result, in October 1944 Ede lay just behind the German front line. In the Betuwe was then the American 101st Airborne Division. On 20 October the deputy divisional commander, General Higgins, ordered his intelligence officer 1st Lieutenant Hugo Sims to 'deliver a prisoner of war'. After sending out several patrols to no avail, Sims finally carried out the assignment himself. The objective was to gather as much information as possible about the Germans and to take a prisoner of war with him for interrogation.On October 30, Sims and six volunteers crossed the Rhine at night near Renkum. There, the Americans moved carefully between German positions and snuck past sleeping Germans. They came out at Planken Wambuis, and walking towards Ede they stopped at the house of forester Ruiter at the (Verlengde) Arnhemseweg 75. This house along Rijksweg 24 (now N224) had a sign with a red cross at the front door: in the house there were bandages from the Red Cross and the resident had first aid training.&nbsp;But residents were no longer there, as the area was 'Spergebied'. All residents were forced to evacuate by the Germans. Sergeant-Major Frank and Private Nicolai went inside. They found two sleeping German officers in the front room who were immediately made prisoners of war. Sims then set up the house as an observation post. The radio he brought with him was set up in the attic. With it, Sims informed his headquarters that the operation was successful and that they now had two POWs. At 07.00 a Dutch boy unexpectedly appeared at the door. In the course of the morning more Dutchmen came by, eventually a total of eight people. What they were doing in the Sper area is a mystery. Some of them claim to be members of the resistance; they gave the Americans information about German units and positions. The Dutch have to stay until the patrol has left. A passing German letter carrier asks for water and thus becomes the third German POW. A German who lets his horses drink at the house is the fourth. Sergeant Major Frank questioned them and sent the information to U.S. headquarters. That afternoon, two more Germans were captured, bringing the total to six POWs. Sims wanted to use a truck for the retreat. So Frank goes out with the German letter carrier to stop a truck on State Highway 24 (N224). First to stop, however, was a German motorcyclist, the seventh POW. Around 8 p.m. the Americans forced a German truck to stop. Thirteen SS soldiers and the driver surrendered and the Americans set off with 21 POWs in the truck.On the way, they were overtaken by an SS officer in an amphibious Volkswagen. He, too, entered the cargo bay. The truck got stuck on a dirt road seven kilometers before the Rhine. On foot they continued through the German lines towards Renkum. Past the Rijndijk they overran four Germans from a guard post. Six more Germans from two other river posts were captured. Sims signals the agreed-upon light signal to the other side. From the south bank, boats arrive to ferry the patrol to liberated territory. To get everyone across, they must sail back and forth eleven times. Returning, Sims calls General Higgins: "Lieutenant Sims reports back with 32 prisoners of war, General." Higgins: "How many?" "Thirty-two general." "Unbelievable (Incredible)!"

Incredible patrol

In March 1935, a labor camp was opened on the edge of the Ginkel Heath for youthful unemployed. The labor camp, 't Wijde Veld, had six barracks. The residents worked on road maintenance and the construction of bicycle paths for the Heidemaatschappij.At the beginning of the Second World War, the camp was abandoned, but in March 1944 it was reoccupied by 109 evacuees (18 families) from Stavenisse. Their island of Tholen had been flooded by the German occupiers. A small Zealand community was formed where the men worked for the Heidemaatschappij and there was a school for the children.With the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, the liberation of Europe began. After fierce fighting in the summer, most of France and Belgium were liberated at lightning speed in early September. On Sunday, September 17, 1944, Operation Market Garden began. The Allies wanted to enter Germany from the Belgian border through the middle of the Netherlands. As part of this grand plan, the bridges over the Rhine at Arnhem were to be captured by British airborne units. This part of the operation became known as the Battle of Arnhem.The Zeelanders saw British paratroopers near Renkum and British gliders land near Wolfheze that Sunday afternoon. A Scottish unit, which had landed with gliders, had to occupy the Ginkel Heath. This was intended as a drop zone for the 4th Parachute Brigade who would arrive the next day. The Scots occupied the moor and also the work camp where they found the civilians.During the night, units of the SS Wachbataillon 3 (about 750 men, mostly Dutch soldiers in German military service) made frantic attempts to capture the moor. The next morning they approached the Scots' positions at the eastern edge of the woods and the work camp. A firefight ensued with shots being fired right through the barracks. Seven Scots were killed in the fighting and six were wounded. Two Zeeland citizens were also killed, another was seriously wounded. Twenty-three soldiers were made prisoners of war and taken to Ede. The Zeeland residents were also sent to Ede by the Germans.In the afternoon of September 18 the 4th Parachute Brigade, almost 1900 men, landed on the Ginkelse Heath. They were received with heavy German anti-aircraft fire. About 300 British soldiers were killed, wounded, missing or made prisoners of war.

Labor Camp "'t Wijde Veld"

With the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, the liberation of Europe began. After fierce fighting in the summer, most of France and Belgium were liberated at lightning speed in early September. On Sunday, September 17, 1944, the Allies attempted to bring a quick end to the war from Belgium with an advance through the Netherlands, Operation Market Garden. As part of this grand plan, the bridges over the Rhine at Arnhem were to be captured by British airborne units. This part of the operation became known as the "Battle of Arnhem.On that Sunday afternoon, the German troops saw airborne landings near Renkum and Wolfheze. Immediately, the German high command in the Netherlands sent the SS Wachbataillon 3 (about 750 men, mostly Dutch soldiers in German military service) from Amersfoort to Ede. Upon arrival in Ede, the German battalion commander, SS-Sturmbannführer (Major) Paul Anton Helle, set up Hotel Pension de Langenberg as his command post. During that evening and night, his troops arrived there from Amersfoort. From the Langenberg he directed the troops towards the Ginkelse Heath. There followed heavy fighting with the landed British soldiers, who meanwhile had entrenched themselves in the woods around the heath. The next morning Helle moved his command post to Herberg Zuid-Ginkel.On Monday afternoon, September 18, Helle sat resting in the gelagkamer of Herberg Zuid-Ginkel. During the night his troops had captured most of the Ginkelse heath from the British. Helle placed his heavy weapons north of the Rijksweg 24 (now N224), east of the inn. The fighting had subsided for a while, but a renewed German attack was already in preparation. At the same time, British troops were waiting for the 4th Parachute Brigade to land, but ground fog in England had delayed the landing.By three o'clock Helle's adjutant, SS Untersturmführer (1st Lieutenant) Albert Naumann, heard the heavy roar of aircraft in the gelagkamer. Seeing the imposing spectacle of the many planes approaching from the southwest, he understood that quick action was needed. Almost 1900 British paratroopers landed right above the SS Wachbataillon. Helle was rudely awakened from his sleep. With the men present, he fled through the back door towards the Hindekamp. The commander of the heavy weapons, a veteran, aimed his guns at the paratroopers who were now approaching Helle's headquarters. A short time later, the British took out these guns. The commander of the 4th Parachute Brigade, Brigadier (Brigadier General) Hackett, near the sheepfold, personally captured about six Germans.

Airborne landings on the Ginkel Heath

In the early morning of Friday 10 May 1940, the German army invaded the Netherlands. After German troops crossed the IJssel near Westervoort, they moved through Arnhem and Ede towards the Grebbeline, which is located west of Ede. The 4th Regiment Huzaren (soldiers on horseback or on bicycles) had to slow the German advance between Arnhem and Ede, so there was time to bring the main defense in the Grebbeline in readiness. The regiment of hussars had to try to eventually retreat behind the Grebbeline with as few losses as possible, where they were redeployed.Four motorized hussars formed the rearguard of the regiment. This group was under the command of cornet Graaf van Limburg Stirum. They had to protect the retreat of the regiment. They took positions on the upper floor of the Herberg Zuid-Ginkel.Suddenly in the afternoon of Friday 10 May, a strongly armed motorized SS formation emerged from the woods in the direction of Arnhem on the Rijksweg 24 (now N224). It was a reconnaissance unit of the SS Regiment 'Der Führer'. Immediately the group of Dutch Hussars opened fire on the German troops with their light machine gun. They immediately turned around and disappeared into the woods. After some time the cornet decided to retreat according to the order. But unexpectedly came German motorcyclists from the Wijde Veldweg along the sheepfold towards the inn. They had driven under the shelter of the row of trees along the sheep pasture to the sheepfold. The cornet himself opened fire with the light machine gun so that his men could get away. His ammunition ran out and he had to surrender. He went downstairs but at the front door he was shot without mercy. His men, Corporal Bonkerk and Hussar Dijkers, were shot in the same way at the side door.The fourth man, hussar Kuperus, was hidden inside by innkeeper Kramer. Shortly thereafter the area around the inn came under Dutch artillery fire. The German troops withdrew in the direction of the Planken Wambuis. This gives Huzaar Kuperus the opportunity to escape. In civilian clothes and on a borrowed bicycle he managed to reach his own lines via the Kreelseweg.

Tavern Zuid-Ginkel 

The 1st British Airborne Division had received orders to secure the bridge over the River Rhine near Arnhem. They landed in September 1944 to the west of Arnhem. On 17th September, the 7th Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers landed in gliders to the north of Wolfheze. They were given orders to defend the Ginkelse Heide (Ginkel Heath) near Ede, which was the droppingzone for the second day of the operation: Monday 18th September. Various German units supported by armoured vehicles attacked the Scottish positions around the heath, which eventually proved to be too big for them to defend.They lost part of the droppingzone. Then on the Monday afternoon, the 4th Parachute Brigade started their descent, just as the Scots were driving off the Germans. The 2000 parachutists had expected a quiet landing, but instead, were confronted with a fierce attack, a blazing inferno of bullets, fire and smoke. The Germans retaliated with all the fire power they had, but despite the German anti-aircraft defences as well as problems with the jump, 90% of the paratroopers managed to land in the designated landing zone. They started their advance towards Arnhem at around 17.00 hours. <iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2yR0bqriDbc?showinfo=0"></iframe>

Battle of Ginkel Heath

In October 1944, the 101st US Airborne Division was positioned in the Betuwe and was trying to find out where the Germans were in the Veluwe. On 30th October six men decided to head towards Ede, crossing the Rhine and arriving at a house on the edge of the Ginkelse Heide (Ginkel Heath) early the following morning. There were two German officers fast asleep in the house so the Americans took them prisoner. Later that morning, they put a number of locals who happened to pass by, under house arrest, shortly before capturing yet another four German soldiers. Then they waited until twilight to start the journey back across the Rhine. The Americans forced one of the German prisoners to stop a German military vehicle as it approached, which he did. There were 13 members of the SS in the back and the Americans took them prisoner too. An SS captain passed by later that evening who surrendered, just like the other 13. Then the men set off in the two vehicles they had just commandeered. Not long after setting off, the vehicles got stuck on the Rijksweg 12 road and the men had to walk to the bank of the Rhine via Renkum. There, they took some guards prisoner and finally crossed the Rhine. By the time they came to reporting to their battalion, they had captured a total of 32 prisoners of war. "Incredible!" was the only response.