Blitzkrieg
Sir: Could you correct an error in Mr von Hoffman's article 'Begin's American friends' (1 August)?
'The names of Guernica, Amsterdam and Coventry . . .' should read 'The names of Guernica, Rotterdam and Coventry. . Moreover, there is an important difference between the purpose of destroying Guernica and Coventry on the one hand, and Rotterdam on the other: as pointed out in an article, in a magazine published by (or for) the German Navy in 1938, Rotterdam had to be destroyed because Hitler had Planned to turn a rebuilt Rotterdam into the largest German post-war port! A few new buildings were to be spared — Town Hall, Police HQ and the Boymans-van Beuningen Museum — and were spared — these buildings could be used by the post-war German authorities.
El/ca Shrijver
Prinsengracht 242 Amsterdam
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