Small group WWII Tour: Nazi concentration Camp & Battle of Arnhem
Description
On this small group tour "In the footsteps of WW2" we dive into history. This is a great addition to tours on Jewish history in Amsterdam and the Anne Frank House. We visit a former Nazi concentration camp, with its barracks, memorials and crematorium. Corrie Ten Boom was imprisoned here during the war. Many Jewish children were sent to Poland from here and hundreds of resistance members were executed. We will also visit the sites of Operation Market Garden and the battle of Arnhem: what was the plan and how did it fail? What were the implications for the Dutch people and the Allied forces? The exhibition at the Airborne Museum in Arnhem, the war cemetery and the John Frost Bridge are a must see on this tour. If you rather visit the War cemetery in Groesbeek, Overloon or Magraten, or the Former concentration camp Westerbork where Anne Frank and her family were imprisoned, please book our private WW2 tour!
Tour Options
Itinerary
We visit the former Nazi concentration camp Vught in the South of Holland. The camp was first used in 1942 and held 31,000 Jewish and political prisoners. We will visit the remainders of the concentration camp with its watchtowers, barracks, crematorium, original train and children's memorial. We also visit the execution site in the woods where over 300 resistance members were executed. The camp has a book shop, a good audio tour and a small cafeteria.
The John Frost Bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem was the last bridge that needed to be captured during Operation Market Garden. If the Allies could capture this bridge the road to Germany would lay open. The bridge plays an important role in the movie A Bridge Too Far.
We visit the Airborne Museum at Villa Hartenstein. During the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944, which was part of the military operation Market Garden, Hartenstein became the headquarters of the British Airborne Division during heavy fighting. The daring attempt to punch through German lines and capture the Ruhr area to quickly end the war was unsuccessful. The bridge at Arnhem turned out to be a bridge too far. Now, Hartenstein is home to personal stories from British, Polish, and German soldiers as well as from civilians, told through the museum’s unique historical objects.
We will visit the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery. Here most of the 1684 fallen soldiers of the September landings are laid to rest.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Travel time and Lunch time is included in the total duration of the tour.
- Please call ahead if you want to bring a wheelchair. We can take most foldable ones!
- For babies and children under 6 please bring or ask for an appropriate car seat!
Reviews(8)
A must do. I cannot recommend this tour enough. This is a small, intimate tour with a very knowledgeable guide. The tour guide takes the time to share their own personal experiences, which adds another layer to the tour which is absolutely moving.
We had a very moving and informal trip to Camp Vught, and Arnhem. Ava at Dutch Tours was incredibly friendly, helpful, empathetic and informative - even sharing her own stories along with the background to this period of time. Thank you so much for making our time in Amsterdam so memorable!
Best tour guide we have ever had. The incredible information she has and experiences she knows about is mind blowing. Highly recommended. Picked up on time. Had snacks, water and sodas. Very knowledgeable and had an amazing day.
This was educational and very personal to the guide so learned on a higher level. This tour was for my husband but the guide brought it to life for me and I enjoyed a day I was not looking forward to spending! Don't miss this tour! I would give a higher rating if I could!
And that on your birthday Michele, thank you so much for trusting me on that special day! It was wonderful to have you with me and I'm happy to hear that you appreciated the day so much. All the best to you both! Eva - Dutch Tours
Trip was an excellent tour. Sarah provided an excellent narrative with some personal history and cultural info. She was a great driver and was very courteous to our group. We had people with dietary needs and she was able to find us a great restaurant. She knew her history at all the stops. We loved the Airbourne Museum and we'll never forget our trip to Kamp Vught. I strongly recommend this tour.
thank you so much for this nice review, it was a memorable day indeed. I hope you enjoyed the rest of your stay here in the Netherlands! All the best, Sarah ~ Dutch Tours
Eva provided so much background and personal experiences passed on from members in her family to help us understand the brevity of what happened, why and the inhumane treatment of the Jews and others who tried to protect them. Heartbreaking how all this unfolded. Additionally, Eva thoroughly described the Battle of Arnhem and how it came to be and why followed by a trip to the museum and Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, where over 1700 Allied soldiers were buried. The entire experience of seeing the war site, museum and cemetary gave me a very good understanding what our allied troops were fighting against and why. This was an extremely educational day and I'm very happy I booked this tour. I needed to know. I highly recommend this tour to others who are unclear how well organized concentration and elimination camps were designed and orchestrated by the Nazis to reach their end goal in their reign of perceived superiority and how necessary it was for our Allied forces to fight them.
Thank you for this very detailed review, good to hear that you appreciated the tour so much. All the best, Eva - Dutch Tours
Fantastic tour! The personal details that our guide shared of her family’s experience during World War 2 and at Camp Vught made the tour especially memorable. Would highly recommend this tour.
Dear Laurel and Robert, it was a privilege to have you on board on my tour. Thank you so much for your warm interest. I hope to see you back one day for some more NL exploring! All the best to you both, Eva - Dutch Tours
The Footsteps of WWII tour was a humbling experience. Our tour guide Eva was the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. Eva shared the personal experiences of her father and grandparents throughout the day which helped immerse us in that time period and helped us process the sites from a different perspective. The Airborne Museum at Villa Hartenstein was very well done, we could have spent days there. The grounds and audio narrative of Camp Vught concentration camp were well done. Eva was very personable, accommodating and her English was excellent. Eva was a great story teller which helped us understand the oppression of the Jewish community in the Netherlands. This was a great tour with an amazing tour guide. We would highly recommend this tour.
