Address 5 Mei Plein 1 | Construction started 1852 | |
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Location Wageningen, Netherlands | ||
Hotel de Wereld (meaning Hotel The World) in Wageningen was the site of the capitulation of the German troops in the Netherlands on 5 and 6 May 1945, and the end of German occupation during World War II.
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On 6 May 1945, the German general Blaskowitz surrendered to the Canadian general Charles Foulkes, which ended the Second World War in the Netherlands. The Generals negotiated the terms of surrender in the Hotel de Wereld.
This fact is remembered annually.
History
In 1669 Jacob Meijnsen had a hotel outsite the city gates of Wageningen. It was a stopping place between Utrecht and Arnhem. The inn appears on a map of Gerard Passevant (thithe map) in 1676. In 1814 the oldest painting of the hotel was made, this painting was commissioned by Gerrit Steuk when he became the owner of the inn. In 1852 a new hotel was built (current building) on the foundations of the old inn. In 1872 a new extension of three storeys was built.
Since 2004 it is again a hotel and restaurant. The in Hotel de Wereld situated restaurant O Mundo is a 1 star restaurant according to the Michelin Guide.
World War II background
When British Field Marshal Montgomery reached Lübeck and the Baltic Sea in the beginning of May 1945, the German troops in Denmark and part of The Netherlands were isolated from their homebase. Without major fights, they surrendered to Montgomery on May 4 at Lüneburg Heath. On 5 May 1945 the negotiation for the surrender of the Germans in the Netherlands took place in the hotel. The Canadian general Charles Foulkes, Canadian general George Kitching, Prince Bernhard, German general Johannes Blaskowitz and German general Paul Reichelt were present at the negotiation. On 6 May 1945 the official signing of the capitulation act took place in the Aula of the Landbouwhogeschool next to the hotel. Photos can be seen here. The pen used to sign can be seen in the local museum the Casteelse poort (English: Castles gate).
By 1975 the Hotel was fully restored. The restored Hotel was opened by H.R.H. Prince Bernhard, who represented the Netherlands at the capitulation in 1945.
On 8 July 1945 the bronze plaque was attached to the wall of the Hotel by the Canadians. On 9 July Prince Bernhard unveiled the plaque which was given by General Foulkes to remember the capitulation act signed in Wageningen.