This week, the topic was the carpet bombing of Rotterdam in 1940 and the modernist city approach. Germany bombed Rotterdam on May 14, 1940, and German occupation until 1945 followed the bombing. The bombing lasted 15 minutes but it was devastating. Nearly all of the buildings have been destroyed or burned down. The problems like starvation followed these disasters during the occupation. There was no gas, no electricity, no light, or no facilities for heating or cooling. So, the citizens moved to the countryside to take some food from the farmers. The city center was completely destroyed.
The historic Rotterdam was unable to accommodate people in many aspects, for example increasing traffic. It was obvious that the city needed a transformation, modernization because of the desired conditions that would allow for economic expansion and mobility, and also the lack of infrastructures of the port. As we know, Rotterdam is a city formed near a dam and then enlarged with new docks and fortifications. So, the urban development was naturally focusing on the expansion of the port and the city to the south and the west. In the process, Willem Gerrit Witteveen and Rotterdam’s Architect Society Opbouw were such a big help. Witteveen was planning to dominate the city with wide boulevards and avenues, and perimeter blocks. Opbouw’s approach was to interfere with the residential buildings with modern concepts.
There were ideas of reconstruction, but it was of course hard to realize them. The carpet bombing in 1940 was a driving force for the issue. Since all of the cities were destroyed, now they had to put those ideas into practice. So, the reconstruction of the city has started. There were two different plans for the city. One of them belongs to Witteveen, who wanted to combine the historic city center with a modern cityscape. Another plan belonged to Traa, who wanted to separate the areas for living, working, and recreation. And now, the businesses and factories were relocated outside the city center. The city was also a great admirer of the American cities in the 1930s. Architects were visiting American cities like New York and Chicago. So, we can easily say that the Americans were also an inspiration for the development of the city. The reconstruction has started in 1947.
It is hard to re-design and re-construct a city. I think it is not possible to start to re-construct a city suddenly. There, unfortunately, should be a disaster which demolishes the city. This forces people to reconstruct, renovate. We have seen natural disasters until Rotterdam, as fires and earthquakes. The fires of London and İzmir can be an example of that. But I think Rotterdam is more similar to İzmir than London. Because in London, the street plans of the city were kept. The city was not completely reconstructed. But İzmir is more similar to the case of Rotterdam. In both, the city was reconstructed. But I think the difference between old and new is much more obvious in the Rotterdam case.
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