During my years of collecting WWII-memorabilia I often stumbled upon photographs and military artifacts of my hometown.  So I started collecting these too and  a few years ago I published my book about the German occupation of Bergen op Zoom. From 1940 to 1944 Bergen op Zoom was occupied by the German 16th Schiffsstammabteilung (Kriegsmarine). The book starts with operation ‘Fall Gelb’; the German attack on France via the Netherlands on the 10th of May 1940- and ends with the liberation of Bergen op Zoom by Canadian troops in October 1944. Many remnants of the fierce fighting between our Canadian liberators and German troops are still visible in our town, woods and surrounding fields.

Photographs © D.C. Canne