over 60 years later, the battle lives on
a visitors’ centre for a bridge too far
The battle at Arnhem was a watershed in the Second World War. Few people are fully aware of the drama that took place here and its impact. The largest airborne landing operation of all time, and a missed opportunity to bring an earlier end to W.W.II. British, Poles, Americans and the people of Arnhem themselves defended a bridgehead against the Germans for weeks, but to no avail. Many lives were lost and half the city was destroyed. None of this detracts from the courage and self-sacrifice of those involved. Busloads of veterans, family members and others have been arriving ever since in the city that has always been inextricably linked to the war.
Although there are many other locations that are dedicated to remembering the events, there had been nothing to see by the famous bridge itself.
62 years on, that’s all changed. Tinker developed a concept for a visitors’ centre together with LaGroup, and executed the creative and production together with JJB environmental design and Brandwacht & Meijer. The battle is seen in the centre from the point of view of all the combatants. Dozens of witnesses on 4 walls tell an international and personal story. At the heart of the centre is an audiovisual animation of the events, and of course there’s a view of the famous bridge. Where passenger cars drive now we see the German tanks rolling over the bridge, and the battle comes to life again.