Military vehicles on display at the Arnhem Oorlogsmuseum 40-45. Photo: Julian Tennant
British paratrooper removing his Welbike motorcycle from it’s drop container in the Market Garden display at the Arnhem Oorlogsmuseum 40-45. Photo: Julian Tennant.
Plastic ‘economy’ issue Parachute Regiment beret badge and half section of a German dog-tag. Arnhem Oorlogsmuseum 40-45. Photo: Julian Tennant
Operation Market Garden German soldiers and British para captive on display at the Oorlogsmuseum 40-45. Photo: Julian Tennant.
British and German paratrooper on display at the Oorlogsmuseum 40-45. Photo: Julian Tennant
Various British 1st Airborne Division shoulder and beret badges. Arnhem Oorlogsmuseum 40-45. Photo: Julian Tennant
Parachute Regiment beret. The caption indicated that this beret belonged to a dead British para and was found in Hartenstein, site of the British HQ. Arnhem Oorlogsmuseum. Photo: Julian Tennant
German fallschirmjäger (paratrooper) helmet on display at the Arnhem Oorlogsmuseum 40-45. Photo: Julian Tennant
German weapons display at the Arnhem Oorlogsmuseum 40-45. Photo: Julian Tennant
British Sten gun variations on display at the Arnhem Oorlogsmuseum 40-45. Photo: Julian Tennant
Like the Glider Collection Wolfheze, the Arnhem Oorlogsmuseum (sometimes referred to in English language search engines as the Arnhem War Museum) is another private museum in the Arnhem area.
Owner Eef Peeters started collecting militaria as a boy, storing his collection at first in his home, followed by a shed and then finally, in 1994, moving the collection to its current location, an old school, in Schaarsbergen. The collection does not focus specifically on Operation Market Garden but paints a much broader picture of what happened in Arnhem and the surrounding areas during the war years. This includes a number of objects relating to less popular subjects including collaboration and the Dutch Nazi Party, the Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging in Nederland (NSB).
Dutch Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging in Nederland (NSB) uniform. The printed caption in Dutch referred to Carolus Huygen, the Secretary General of the NSB fron 1940. However it did not indicate whether this uniform was his or belonged to another member. Photo: Julian Tennant
Various insignia and items relating to the Dutch Nazi Party, the Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging in Nederland (NSB). Photo: Julian Tennant
Dutch Nazi Party, the Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging in Nederland (NSB) cap. Photo: Julian Tennant
Dutch volunteer of the Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 10 ‘Westland’ / SS-Standarte ‘Westland’ and propaganda recruiting poster. Photo: Julian Tennant
Two Dutch SS cufftitles. The “Frw. Legion Nederland” title was worn by members of the “Freiwillige Legion Niederlande”. The “Landstorm Nederland” was originally a a home guard unit, which the SS took over in 1943 and became the SS-“Freiwilligen-Brigade Landstorm Nederland” before evolving into the “34. SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division Landstorm Nederland” in February 1945. I am not sure of the significance of the newspaper beneath the cuff titles. Photo: Julian Tennant
This is an old-style museum concentrating on artifacts, rather than interactive displays. It’s a fascinating and at times eclectic collection of items squeezed into the available space. A lot of the memorabilia is not captioned in English, so I had to rely on my rusty Afrikaans/Dutch skills to interpret some of the captions, but the staff were helpful and friendly. When one of the volunteer staff members found out that I was a collector, after I asked if there were any antique or shops around which may have militaria for sale, he invited me into the office to show me some of the original items that were available for sale to help fund the museum upkeep. But, whilst I was tempted by a couple of period Dutch National Socialist badges, I decided that I had better try to maintain focus on my airborne interest and left empty handed.
Display featuring uniforms worn by soldiers of the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division, nicknamed “The Polar Bear Butchers” after their shoulder sleeve formation sign and a 6 lb anti-tank gun as used by the 1st Air Landing Anti-Tank Battery during the battle for Arnhem. Photo: Julian Tennant
German Luftwaffe display at the Arnhem Oorlogsmuseum 40-45. Photo: Julian Tennant
Shoulder patch of the Legion Freies Arabien (Free Arabian Legion), which was worn by units raised by the Germans using recruits from the Middle East and North Africa. Photo: Julian Tennant
Selection of German gorgets that have seen better days, on display at the Arnhem Oorlogsmuseum 40-45. Photo: Julian Tennant.
German Waffen SS officer’s cap with bevo type Totenkopf skull on display at the Arnhem Oorlogsmuseum 40-45. Photo: Julian Tennant.
German Luftwaffe uniforms worn during the occupation of Holland. Photo: Julian Tennant
German army officer uniforms worn during the occupation of Holland. Photo: Julian Tennant
Dutch resistance ‘Oranje’ armbands on display at the Arnhem Oorlogsmuseum 40-45. Photo: Julian Tennant
Items for sale at the Arnhem Oorlogsmuseum 40-45. Like many museums, there are a selection of replica items for sale. However after chatting to the staff and mentioning my collecting interest, they also showed me some original pieces that were not on display that were also available to help fund the museum. Photo: Julian Tennant
If you have a car, Arnhem Oorlogsmuseum is about 10 minutes drive from central Arnhem or if you are using public transport can be reached in under half an hour via the #9 bus departing from near Arnhem Centraal train station.
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