The Rotterdam Blitz was the German bombing of Rotterdam during the Second World War when the Axis Powers, led by Germany, invaded the Netherlands. The Netherlands is located between Great Britain and Germany, and the Nazis saw it as a strategically important to occupy it.
Rotterdam was the biggest industrial city in the Netherlands, so the Germans chose it as the target. On May 14, 1940, the Germans dropped over 1,000 bombs on the city center and in the residential area of Kralingen (which is where I live now). Most of the city was destroyed.
After the war, the people of Rotterdam decided to rebuild the city and make it even better than it was. They would fix the problems like overcrowded neighborhoods and introduce new, urban architecture. The city would be would be modern and brand new.
Because of the bombing, Rotterdam looks different from the other quaint Dutch cities. Instead of leaning town houses, the city is full of modern skyscrapers. Rotterdam took a tragedy and made an opportunity out of it.
