It might be the complete opposite of what Easter stands for: War. Sadly, an unavoidable phenomenon of our civilization. Conflict is ingrained in our nature from a very young age. When we’re little, we just have to have that toy car the other kid is playing with. That sandcastle the other kid built better? It needs to be flattened. Over time, most of us fortunately learn that conflict never is, and never will be, the answer.
But some never grow out of it. And sadly, because of how our global society is structured—through dictatorship or (semi-)democratic processes—a few of those people who refuse to learn end up in the most powerful positions. And instead of fighting over toy cars, the conflicts become about land, resources, race, religion, or wealth. Thanks to some of those conflicts, we may now be able to celebrate Easter in freedom, but still…
War belongs in a museum#
The War Museum in Overloon couldn’t have chosen a better motto. Ages ago, when this little guy was just knee-high to a grasshopper, I visited the museum once. But I barely remember any of it. Wanting to spend the Easter weekend a bit differently this year—not just another standard trip to the furniture outlet like half of the Netherlands—this made for a great destination to revisit.
A destination full of history. The museum, opened in 1946 and thus the oldest World War II museum in Western Europe, is located on a historical site. Toward the end of the war, this was the location of the Battle of Overloon, part of Operation Market Garden, also known as Operation Aintree. At the end of the war, part of the battlefield was handed over in leasehold to a foundation by church and state. This foundation collected and brought all the leftover war equipment on site into a barn, which became the starting point for the National War and Resistance Museum Overloon.
Over the years, the collection has grown significantly and now includes a large number of wartime vehicles. Among them Panther, Churchill, and Sherman tanks, aircraft like a B-25 Mitchell bomber and a Spitfire. And of course, a wealth of civilian items, documents, uniforms, weapons, and other military artifacts.
In short, plenty to see and explore.
Overwhelming#
And you notice quickly that it is an impressive collection. The museum is more or less split into two sections. The first section takes you through the wartime period in the Netherlands from 1940 to 1945. With a variety of objects, the stories of both the occupier and the resistance are told.
The largest part of the museum is an enormous hall housing over 150 different vehicles. For me personally, the B-25 was the highlight. In part because this aircraft was involved in bombing raids on my own hometown. Also quite striking is the Lancaster, displayed in parts—something that leaves you speechless. An impressive collection you should definitely take your time to walk through.
Frozen in place#
Of course, modern museums need to innovate. Recently, the museum was expanded with a multimedia experience called D-DEX. As the name suggests, it’s an experience centered around the D-Day landing in Normandy. You’re taken through several scenes with a company, starting from the safety of an English dock, onto a ship, into a landing craft, across the beach, and finally into a bunker. Especially the beach landing is intense. Not just because of the theater technology involved, but also due to the sheer experience and emotional impact.
The crossing is simulated with a 360-degree video in which you’re on one of the landing crafts heading toward the beach. Around you on the screens, you see your boat and your fellow soldiers growing more nervous and uneasy. As the music swells, you hear and feel shells landing in the water around you. The whole time you have no idea where you’re going—until the ramp in front of you opens. The video continues, showing actors rushing onto the beach next to you, until suddenly a shell explodes right in front of you, sending up a huge black cloud of smoke.
A moment later, the video screen vanishes and you’re suddenly standing on the beach. Right in front of you, a bunker with machine guns aimed straight at you, and around you, screaming soldiers shouting at you to move forward. And all this surrounded by deafening sounds of war. Frozen…
You know it’s not real, but all I could do was stand there, frozen. Thinking about how hopeless it must have looked for those who really stood there in that moment in history, seeing this scene unfold as their ramp dropped. Overwhelming—and humbling.
