Theft suspected after Arnhem war momument disappears

The Airborne monument at the foot of the John Frost Bridge in Arnhem has gone missing. The city believes it was stolen and will file a report, De Gelderlander reports.

The WWII monument consists of a bronze plaque dating from 1951. It describes the war history of the bridge in Dutch and English.

“It is a disgrace that people do this kind of thing,” a furious alderman Rob Roelof told the newspaper. “Those people have absolutely no idea what this monument means. It affects me personally, because we experienced so many special moments here. It is the most sacred place in Arnhem, where the commemoration of the Second World War takes place so intensely.”

Joris Nieuwint from Veghel first noticed that the monument was missing on Friday and reported it to the municipality. “I saw all kinds of grindings lying around the monument,” he told the newspaper. “That indicates that it was stolen.”