What was it like for a 17-year-old girl trying to survive the Battle of Arnhem?

In her diary, Anje van Maanen describes what she and her family went through during the fierce lighting that took place around their home at Pietersbergseweg in Oosterbeek and later during their stay at the Tafelberg field hospital, where her father, a doctor, cared for casualties.

The exhilaration of imminent liberation that followed the arrival of the “Airbornes” was quickly replaced by fear. The village was...

During the Battle of Arnhem, Hotel Schoonoord in Oosterbeek, the parental home of primary school teacher Hendrika (Riek) van der Vlist, finds itself in the front line. The British take over the hotel as a field hospital. Together with other volunteers Riek helps hundreds of wounded British, Polish and German soldiers. Even when Schoonoord falls into German hands she continues to care for the wounded.

When the Airbornes are transported from Schoonoord by the Germans, Hendrika goes with them to...