On February 1, 1945, 22 people from Tilburg were killed by the German ‘flying bomb’, the first unmanned jet aircraft in the world. A bomb that destroyed dozens of houses and lives on Minister Talmastraat in one fell swoop. Harry Buster (93) lost a large part of his family. A monument to the victims was officially unveiled on Wednesday.
The monument was due for replacement after 77 years. It had turned green from the algae and the 22 names were no longer legible. That had to change, thought writer Paul Spapens. The Orange Committee set to work together with the municipality.
The moment of impact was on February 1, 1945, at 12:10 PM. Although Tilburg was officially liberated on October 27, 1944, the flying bombs regularly hovered over Tilburg. “At that time, the employees ate their hot meal at noon and the children were home from school. All the families were together at that time, in that street.”
“There was nothing left of thirteen weavers’ houses.”
Harry Buster was fifteen and lived at the van Bylandstraat in Tilburg. “We were all sitting at the table eating quietly, until the neighbors came running towards us. They said that a bomb had fallen on Minister Talma Street. I immediately ran there.”
What he found then was terrible, says Buster emotionally. His uncle, aunt-in-law and eight children were wiped out in one fell swoop by that flying bomb. “There was nothing left of thirteen weavers’ houses. The mess was scattered all over the street. They must be dead, I thought.”
A cousin of Harry, named Harry Buster, survived the bombing because he was not at home. This cousin lost his parents and all his brothers and sisters, he passed away in the 80’s. Now Harry is the only one who can retell his family’s story, although he doesn’t like to.
His relatives only get to hear about it if they ask. “If I had family left from that time, it would be different. Then we would have told our story together.” Although it is not necessary for Harry. Even as a little boy he was always strong. “We all had to move on. We had no choice and did not want to dwell on it. We are tough in that regard.”
“The V1 engine made a ‘tu-tu-tu-tu..’ sound and we immediately went to pray.”
He only felt fear when the V1s flew over: “The engine made a ‘tu-tu-tu-tu..’ sound and then we immediately prayed that it ended up somewhere else.” It resulted in a prayer from Tilburg, referring to Peerke Donders: ‘Holy Peterke, give him another meter.’
The Minister Talmastraat no longer exists. The houses have been demolished and the neighborhood has been redesigned. On Wednesday, the memorial monument for the 22 victims of the German ‘V1 bomb’ was finally officially unveiled at the cemetery on the Goirkestraat. The previously neglected monument has become an honorable marble memorial to the victims of the flying bomb.
This won’t be the last time Harry will come to lay flowers. That may also be the only moment that he lets the reality of that day to himself. He had not expected the monument to become ‘so beautiful’. “I can finally read my uncle’s name again, Henricus Buster.”
