Overloon

We headed at a decent hour to the National War and Resistance Museum in Overloon. It is built upon the site where the Battle of Overloon took place in World War II (1944). It is set in the middle of a park, which contains tributary art and artifacts. Part of a Bailey bridge stands near the entrance, hidden by trees. We went through the smaller wing first, which divided WWII history into chronological and (mostly) subject bases.

It went through immense details of everything from the Dutch Resistance movement to the Jewish victims to the battles facing the Allies. Documents, personal items, photographs, video, artifacts and more relay the trauma of the downtrodden, but their strength until their lives were taken. One of the scariest exhibits was a simulator bombing from the sky, and the experience of German civilians in a bomb shelter pelted by the Allied forces. It took usa long time to experience this “small” wing of the museum. When we walked into the bigger half, we were stunned. There was a variety of war equipment, including guns, tanks, jeeps, artillery, and amphibious vehicles bigger than some houses. To show the scale, G stood next to it. We went through this wing faster, even though it was comparable to a warehouse. They had other era vehicles there, even from Vietnam. One that completely stood out was the white UN vehicle, which provided medical assistance to war struck civilians. Mostly everything else was painted in the colors of war.

We spent some time in the souvenir shop. I got G an American DC3 WWII model plane. We had some lunch in the snack bar of the museum and spent time putting it together. We tried going to another museum after, but it was closed.

An analysis on the wall of the National War and Resistance Museum presented a concise picture of the Dutch experience in WWII and countless other people since then.

“…bombs are falling on people, who in most cases did not choose to fight a war.”