Rotterdam commemorates bombing victims with laser display

The names of all 805 victims who died when the Germans bombed Rotterdam on May 14, 1940, can be seen in the city on Saturday and Sunday. They will be projected on the facade of the new OurDomain residential tower on Blaak.

The Rotterdam City Archives found the names of all the people who died in the bombing. The youngest was 19-day-old Clasina Wilhelmina van Druten and the oldest was Francina Bouman, aged 91. The archive recently published a list containing almost a hundred names of victims who were not previously known.

Together with Tangram Architecture and Urban Landscape and Stichting Voorouder, the Rotterdam City Archives set up the display to project the names onto the building with lasers. The residential tower is located on a spot that remained undeveloped for decades after the bombing. The light display was opened on Saturday evening by Deputy Mayor Vincent Karremans.

In addition, the names were also read in the Laurenskerk on Saturday between 9:00 a.m. and noon. In the afternoon, the annual May 14 commemoration took place at the monument De Verwoeste Stad on Plein 1940, where Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb laid a wreath and bells rang across the city.