The National Museum of Resistance and Human Rights, a modern institution dedicated to exploring the nuanced history of the Second World War, officially opened its doors in Esch-sur-Alzette after eight years of development.
On Friday, the National Museum of Resistance and Human Rights, located on the Place de la Résistance in Esch-sur-Alzette, was officially inaugurated. After eight years of planning and construction, the institution now proudly presents itself as a modern museum that hopes to fulfil all expectations and, above all, engage a broad audience with something of interest for everyone.
Among the guest of Friday's inauguration were Prime Minister Luc Frieden and Culture Minister Eric Thill.
Visitors will need a total of four hours to fully take advantage of all the details of the exhibitions on display. The word "resistance" serves as the key idea that flows throughout the different themes in the museum. The exhibition also offers less well-known information about the Second World War.
The events of this conflict can never be neatly categorised as black and white, but the museum makes a conscious effort to discuss the difficulties of that grey area, which is often hard to talk about. Jérôme Courtoy, a historian working at the museum, believes this to be the most fascinating aspect of the exhibition.
How did people live on a day-to-day basis throughout the war? How did they react to dictatorship and authoritarianism? What did resistance look like? How did collaboration and deportation during the Holocaust work? Answers to all these questions can be found with the help of a coherently displayed timeline with separate chapters.
Shortly after London was bombed for instance, football players in Niederkorn defiantly sang the national anthem on the football field and were arrested.
According to the museum director Frank Schroeder, unlike other museums, the National Resistance Museum wants to show history from all angles, regardless how horrible it might be. Visitors will look directly into the eyes of the Imperial Eagle as it stands in front of the Nazi swastika. For Schroeder, a small carved sculpture by Hinzert concentration camp prisoner Jean Daligault is the museum's most prized possession and was a model for renowned Luxembourgish sculptor Lucien Vercollier's "political prisoner" sculpture.
The first temporary exhibition will be on display from 13 March and will highlight the forgotten victims of the war. Notably, the exhibition will shed light on the persecution of queer and disabled people.
The National Resitance Museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am until 6pm. On Thursdays, the museum is open until 7.30pm. The museum is closed on Mondays.
