About us

This website tells the story of the post-war reconstruction of Rotterdam. The website tells the story of reconstruction from the wartime bombardment to the present day, focusing on the eastern section of the city centre. That’s the place where the city’s reconstruction started, when the first pile was driven into the ground on 15 April 1941.

In addition, personal stories from people who lived through the post-war years are told through words and pictures. Adding new personal stories will help the website to grow and remain relevant. After they have been edited, new contributions will be posted on the relevant section of the website. Share your memories by emailing your story to us at contact@wederopbouwrotterdam.nl. You can also request that somebody interview you.

The ambition is to create one single website as the most important source of information about the post-war reconstruction of the centre of Rotterdam, and to expand the site over the course of the year with both more personal stories and background information about the reconstruction of the centre of Rotterdam.

Introduction

Reconstruction is the term used to describe the rebuilding of the Netherlands after the destruction suffered during the Second World War. In architecture and urban design, the term largely concerns the period from 1945 to about 1968. Rotterdam is the country’s ultimate Reconstruction City, the place where the products of reconstruction are most clearly visible, especially in the city centre, which was wiped out by the bombardment of 14 May 1940.

2015 marks the 75th anniversary of the start of reconstruction. The identity of Rotterdam as a modern metropolis is rooted to a large extent in its rebuilt city centre. Recent years have seen a revaluation of this period. Streets planned and built during the period of reconstruction, among them Meent and Pannekoekstraat, have blossomed into vibrant thoroughfares, with the distinctive reconstruction architecture contributing significantly to their development.

It is no surprise, therefore that the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands has designated the centre a national focus area for reconstruction, thereby drawing attention to its historical qualities.

The website builds on a study carried out by Anne Beeksma and entitled Cultural-Historical Investigation into the Eastern City Centre. You can download the study here.

Organization

Initiative

Marco Stout and Astrid Karbaat

Platform working group

  • Anne Beeksma
  • Paul Groenendijk
  • Rinus van Dam
  • Markus Graf
  • Inge Hagenbeuk
  • Marlies Lageweg
  • Hedwig van der Linden
  • Olivier Scheffer
  • Marco Stout
  • Amanda Terpstra

Management board

  • Marco Stout (voorzitter)
  • Ninke Happel (secretaris)

Advisory board

  • Anita Blom (senior specialist post-war construction and urban planning & project manager Exploration Post 65, RCE)
  • Wijnand Galema (architecture historian)
  • Astrid Karbaat (advisor Department of Heritage City of Rotterdam, initiative taker of Platform)
  • Michelle Provoost (partner Crimson Architectural Historians, managing director International New Town Institute)
  • Jantje Steenhuis (archivist of Rotterdam, City Archive Rotterdam)
  • Siebe Thissen (chief Visual Art & Public Space at CBK Rotterdam)
  • Kees Vrijdag (chairman Stichting Aan Den Slag!)

Financial contribution

  • dr. Hendrik Muller Fonds
  • Elise Mathilde Fonds
  • Stichting Bevordering van Volkskracht
  • Stichting Job Dura Fonds
  • Stichting Wijngaarden Boot
  • Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie
  • Van der Mandele Stichting
  • Van Ommeren de Voogt Stichting
  • VSBfonds
  • Gemeente Rotterdam bureau Binnenstad
  • Gemeente Rotterdam Bureau Monumenten

Partners

  • Gemeente Rotterdam (bureau Binnenstad en bureau Monumenten & Cultuurhistorie)
  • Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed van het Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap
  • Stadsarchief Rotterdam
  • Museum Rotterdam
  • Historisch Genootschap Roterodamum
  • Air (Architecture institute Rotterdam)
  • StADS! (Stichting Aan Den Slag)

RSIN number

  • 8572.62.324