An airplane crashes behind the Carlton Hotel
The Carlton Hotel building was destroyed when a British Halifax bomber crashed behind the hotel on the night of 26-27 April 1943.
The Carlton Hotel in Amsterdam was used by the Germans during the occupation to house officers of the Luftwaffe and their entourage. Other buildings in the area were also in use by the Luftwaffe.
During the night of 26 to 27 April 1943, a Halifax aircraft belonging to a squadron of British bombers was shot down by a German fighter plane[1]. It crashed behind the Carlton Hotel, which was largely destroyed by fire.[2]
Anne describes this in her diary:
"The Carlton Hotel is smashed to bits. Two British planes loaded with incendiary bombs feel right on top of the 'Offizierenheim'. The whole Vijzelstraat-Singel corner is burnt down."[3]
The Germans moved their headquarters to a building further down the road, the office of the Nederlandse Handelmaatschappij, on Vijzelstraat.
Footnotes
- ^ Lieneke Koortnstra wrote a comprehensive artciel on Up in the sky: De Carlton-crash in het hart van Amsterdam.
- ^ Reguliers.net: Oorlogsbrand.
- ^ Anne Frank, Diary Version B, 27 April 1943, in: The Collected Works, trans. from the Dutch by Susan Massotty, London: Bloomsbury Continuum, 2019.