National Museum of Military History

At the National Museum of Military History in Diekirch, volunteers showcase an enormous collection of artifacts from WWII: weapons, vehicles, equipment, all in lifelike scenes. Guide Frank Rockenbrod, whose father was in the concentration camps, is a fountain of knowledge about the Battle of the Bulge. He spoke with numerous survivors and even brought former enemies together. “The tank soldiers told me: we had a tough job shooting kids (the Hitler Youth, ed.).” He shows the scenes that have been vividly reconstructed: Thanksgiving Day, with turkey on the menu for the first time in a long while, the German uniforms – made in the concentration camps – worn inside out because they had a white lining, a perfect camouflage in the snow of that harsh winter in 1944. Relics from a distant past? The museum also displays weapons that are still being used in the war in Ukraine.

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