Modellers from The Netherlands?

I am planning a trip to The Netherlands with some friends, focused on WWII history and have a few questions… Any fellow modellers from there who could help?

Thanks in advance!

Depends on what you need help with… if possible no problem.

Thanks Bert, first I was trying to look for information on acts expected for the Arnhem anniversary. I have found a parachute jump but not much more, maybe re-enactors meetings?. It is a matter of deciding if it’s worth to travel for that date (with the probable crowding on museums and places) or better go any other time.

And also interesting places, of which there are literally thousands. Overloon Museum and Airborne Museum ‘Hartenstein’ seem to be a must, but any recommendation (WWII related) is welcome.

So just a few simple questions eh? :rofl:

War started here May 10 1940, so arount that day a few ceremonies etc; war ended May 5 1945 lots of celebrations then, national remembrance day May 4: ceremonies, in August remembrance day for the end of WW2 in the Dutch Indies.
The main museums you mentioned, besides them there is also the national army museum in Soesterberg in a former US air base, the national Navy museum in Den Helder where you can go onboard a submarine, quite a few smaller museums in different area’s of Holland, a few Bunker museums (part of the Atlantikwall was here, can still be seen both bunkers and the ‘Dragons teeth’), there are area’s where you will find them in the middle of the fields…
Oranjehotel, (the Gestapo prison in Scheveningen, now a museum/memorial), near there the Waalsdopervlakte (where lots of resistance people were executed, now a national memorial from where jearly the remembrance ceremony on may4) Westerbork (camp from where the Jews were gathered and transported), ofcourse in the Arnhem area lots of bigger and smaller Market Garden musea, Grebbelinie (main frontline in the Netherlands during the German attack, now a national cemetary), Margraten (US WW2 cemetary), Anne Frank museum…
I have only been to some of them, but I can send you a list with links to a lot of musea, so you can have a look at some of them to decide which to visit.
Also on that list a few sites with just lots of information about WW2 in the Netherlands, and some sites on re-enactment groups, so you can contact them to see if they have any events planned.
We also have a site on a group called Keep Them Rolling, the restore and drive WW2 vehicles, again I don’t know when they have something planned but you could contact them.

Interactive map shows you where most of WW2 musea can be found

Will that help you?

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Sure it helps, thanks a lot. Are you part of the Keep Them Rolling group?

A very interesting museum is the bunker museum in Kornwerderzand. That is on the afsluitdijk. On that location, the Dutch army was able to hold the German army that was trying to cross the afsluitdijk into Noord Holland and approach Amsterdam from the north.

Around Amsterdam, there was/is a ring of fortifications, called the Stelling van Amsterdam. There are several forts left and some of these can be visited. Fort Pampus (an artificial island) is one, and Fort IJmuiden is also very interesting.

At Muiden (with an old castle) the Stelling van Amsterdam links with the nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie. This again is a line of pre war defenses, based on the old concept of flooded land, in which the areas that would be passable would be defended by strongpoints and forts. This line runs in a North-South direction from the IJsselmeer to the Waal.

As for the liberation of the Netherlands, there is a nice museum in Groesbeek, near Nijmegen that is dedicated to the subject:
https://freedommuseum.com/

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No, I am not a member of any group like that, thats why I thought it might be handy to send you the contactdata.
The musea Golikel mentioned can also be found on that interactive map, so you can check out where they are, you can plan a route to visit them…
Few more links:
Nationaal Militair Museum | Er hangt avontuur in de lucht the national military museum

Marinemuseum Den Helder - Beleef de marine op én onder zee the national navy museum

Mariniersmuseum | Het stoerste museum van Rotterdam national museum about the Dutch Marines and the bombing of Rotterdam (the Dutch ‘Guernica’ )

Marechausseemuseum: het museum dat over grenzen gaat National museum on Dutch Militairy Police

https://www.oorlogsmuseum.nl The most welknown military museum, Overloon

https://www.ktr.nl/ Keep Them Rolling, an organization that keeps ww2 vehicles rolling.

https://kampwesterbork.nl/ the Dutch Jewish camp, from here Jews were transported to Auschwitz etc

Oorlogsmusea Zeeland lots of links about events / sites in Zeeland, a province in the south

https://www.airbornemuseum.nl/ in Hotel Hartenstein about Market Garden Arnhem 1944

https://vrijheidsmuseum.nl/ small museum about Market Garden

Wings to Victory - Wings to Victory about the war in the sky over south of Netherlands

https://www.bevrijdendevleugels.nl/ museum about Market Garden

https://www.grebbeberg.nl/ site about the main defense line in 1940, national war cemetary

https://www.eyewitnesswo2.nl/ museum with rebuild dioramas on WW2, link for a youtube impression: WWII Museum Eyewitness - An AMAZING collection you HAVE to see! - YouTube

https://www.stellingvanamsterdam.nl/nl/fort-bij-veldhuis museum on war in air, situated in a fortress of the Dutch Water line dating 1897

Bezienswaardigheden - TracesOfWar.nl site about places where there is still something to see dating back to WW2

http://www.militairhistorischmuseumachtmaal.nl/ small museum, judging by the sie with some reenacting

Oorlogsmonumenten - Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei : Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei National database on War Memorials

Lijst van militaire begraafplaatsen in Nederland - Wikipedia List of war cemetaries in the Netherlands

https://www.maczekmemorialbreda.nl/ about the Polish troops that helped to liberate the Netherlands

https://www.oranjehotel.org/ a former hotel used in WW2 by Gestapo, now a museum

https://bunkermuseum.nl/ multiple bunkers along the coast, part of Atlantikwall

Atlantikwall Centrum - Forten also about the remaining bunkers of Atlantikwall

https://atlantikwall.nl/ museum about the bunkers and Atlantikwall

https://www.kazemattenmuseum.nl/ museum and bunkers, where 225 Dutch soldiers stopped 17.000 Germans, never captured
https://www.battlefieldtours.nu/ organized tours along places of interest connected to WW2, on the site interesting stories about WW2 in the North of the Netherlands
https://www.crash40-45.nl/hoofdpagina/jaarlijkse-red-ball-express/ Museum about Air War and the resistance, situated in a fortress just outside of Amsterdam. Every year in September the Red Ball Express: organization Keep Them Rolling organizes a tour with WW2 vehicles
Netherlands American Cemetery | American Battle Monuments Commission the American WW2 cemetary in the Netherlands

https://www.canadesebegraafplaatsholten.nl/ Main Canadian War cemetary in the Netherlands

Liberation Route Europe Interactive chart with info on different areas

Reenactment groepen | Military Collectibles 4U site on multiple reenactment groups

https://www.donmilitaria.nl/nl/re-enactment-groepen/ another site on multiple reenactment groups

https://drg-4045.nl/ another site about a reenactment group

https://www.klondikes.nl/over-ons/ another sit about a reenactment group

https://www.bunkerbehoud.com/ bunker museum in Zeeland

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Thanks both, that really helps a lot. Guess I will have to filter, no time to see it all…

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Don’t know if you will be able to be in time…

14 and 15 may in Overloon, big show where you can book driving around in ww2 vehicles