The start of the Remember Museum's collection was the result of one of the most tragic events in WWII ... In November 1944, 110 soldiers of the 26th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division were quartered on the farm of Marcel Schmetz' father.

On 16 December 1944 the German Fieldmarshall Gerd von Rundstedt started the last major German offensive in the West and caught the Allies totally by surprise ... The Battle of the Bulge had begun ! The 110 soldiers who were quartered on the Schmetz farm, were rushed to the frontline. This rush caused the start of the collection ... many of the personal effects of the soldiers stayed behind, only weapons, field equipment and vehicles were taken along. Some of the soldiers were killed or wounded in The Bulge ... none of them came back to collect their belongings.

The collection from these first days contains numerous packages of cigarettes, boots, cokebottles, a tin of instant coffee, books, maps, cards, etc, etc. It would take too long to name every item in the collection, but there are many thousands of objects and photos.

At the moment The Remember Museum is constantly looking to increase the collection, but one of the most special parts is that all the items in the museum are donated by soldiers, relatives, friends, etc ... None of the items was purchased.

Please remember that the items shown in this section of the website reflect just a small portion of the actual collection. Inside the museum you will encounter many, many more interesting objects and stories !