ROTTERDAM - Even on a gloomy, rainy day, this unique European city with the Manhattan skyline looks lovely. The modern glass and steel towers gathered along the shores of the River Maas actually rose from the ashes of war and now stand as a symbol of this city’s strength and determination.
It was 75 years ago that Nazi planes levelled much of Rotterdam in a 5-day bombardment the likes of which the world had never seen. In the end, the German air force had killed almost 1,000 people and the Dutch surrendered and lived under Nazi occupation for the remainder of World War II.
However, the one thing the Germans could not do was kill the spirit of this city and from 1940 to 1945, many of Rotterdam’s citizen went underground and caused havoc for the Nazi occupiers.
Today, those frightful days of war are being remembered in the 75th anniversary exhibition, presented by Museum Rotterdam, that is located a former submarine factory on the mighty Maas.
The temporary exhibit, which is small but powerful, is called De Aanval (The Attack) and showcases harrowing accounts of the bombardment  that started on May 10, 1940. It also contains some amazing artifacts, like a replica of the Heinkel Bomber used by the Nazis in the attack.
There’s also uniforms and lots of military hardware on display in the exhibit that runs until October 25 of this year. 
If you are in Rotterdam or even nearby Amsterdam (everything is close in Holland) this is one stop you might want to make.
For more information on the exhibit, go to http://museumrotterdam.nl/tentoonstellingen/de-aanval / For more on lovely Rotterdam, go to http://http://www.rotterdampartners.nl/