Luftwaffe Bombs Rotterdam — Dutch Surrender Follows

German aircraft bombed the Dutch city of Rotterdam while surrender negotiations were underway, killing approximately 900 civilians and destroying 24,000 homes, leaving 78,000 homeless. The bombing was partly the result of a communications failure — orders to abort the attack were not received by all aircraft — but was used by Germany to threaten Utrecht with the same fate, forcing the Netherlands to surrender within hours. The Rotterdam bombing shocked international opinion and was presented as evidence of Germany's willingness to massacre civilians from the air — helping to justify British reprisal bombing of German cities later in the war.