Remember Museum 39-45
The Remember Museum 39-45 is a fascinating place and one of the best museums of its type. It is housed in a former farmhouse and mainly displays objects left behind there by 110 soldiers of the 1st US Infantry Division who rested at Mr Schmetz Senior’s farm, plus souvenirs donated by veterans. Come and explore this human-scale museum where visitors are warmly welcomed and are impressed by its simplicity and originality. It aims to bear witness to our remembrance of all the GIs who risked their lives to restore our freedom.
The Remember Museum 39-45 was officially opened by Bennie Zuskin, a veteran of the 1st US Infantry Division, on 12 June 1994. This event could be considered anodyne and anecdotal were it not a symbol of an extraordinarily human journey, borne on waves of words of the project’s creators, Mathilde and Marcel Schmetz. For no visit is made without one of them, because each display (containing over 105 figures in total!), flag, piece of clothing and object is linked to true stories and people whose names, faces and stories can be explored. There are also hundreds of “before-and-after” photos, where young men in military uniforms come face-to-face with images of their grandfathers today.
The Schmetzs thus maintain contact with hundreds of American families who continue to donate items loaded with historical significance to the museum.
The Remember Museum 39-45 was officially opened by Bennie Zuskin, a veteran of the 1st US Infantry Division, on 12 June 1994. This event could be considered anodyne and anecdotal were it not a symbol of an extraordinarily human journey, borne on waves of words of the project’s creators, Mathilde and Marcel Schmetz. For no visit is made without one of them, because each display (containing over 105 figures in total!), flag, piece of clothing and object is linked to true stories and people whose names, faces and stories can be explored. There are also hundreds of “before-and-after” photos, where young men in military uniforms come face-to-face with images of their grandfathers today.
The Schmetzs thus maintain contact with hundreds of American families who continue to donate items loaded with historical significance to the museum.