Exhibition shows two personal stories from both a Canadian and a German soldier

SOESTERBERG.- The exhibition 'Him or me. A Canadian and a German' is on view at the National Military Museum to commemorate the '75th Anniversary of Liberation'. The exhibition shows two true, deeply personal stories from both a Canadian and a German soldier; reality as seen through the eyes of two actual servicemen. The exhibition runs until 26 September 2021.

'Him or me. A Canadian and a German'
The battle to liberate the Netherlands was a bitterly fought one. The exhibition 'Him or me' portrays this battle from both the Allied and German perspective, through the eyes of two real servicemen. A French-speaking Canadian called Léo Major (1921-2008) from Québec volunteered to join the Canadian Army in 1940. We follow him in his march from Juno Beach, through major battles, to places where he was seriously injured and suffered the loss of his best friend, before courageously entering Zwolle alone.

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We also follow Hans Kürten (1925) from Leverkusen, who grew up in a country under Hitler's rule. He was conscripted in 1943 and was involved in battles near Arnhem in October 1944. Just like Léo, Hans also lost his best friend and was badly injured on several occasions.

The true and at times shocking stories highlight remarkable parallels that the visitors can discover for themselves. Director Paul van Vlijmen: "Empathy is created through the confrontation with the same events, from a German perspective".

Exceptional artefacts
In addition to the exhibition 'Him or me' which includes exceptional artefacts, the main hall of the NMM, the Arsenal, portrays how the liberation occurred and what this required in logistical terms. Many large vehicles are on display, such as trucks, but also the remarkable German 'Tiger II' tank (called Königstiger), the incredibly rare manned V-1, the Canadian 'Buffalo' landing craft, the 'Archer' tank destroyer and the 'Wasp' flamethrower.

The National Military Museum (NMM) is the ideal museum to explain the importance of the armed forces to the Netherlands in the past, today and in the future. The museum highlights this by way of stories, activities and current exhibitions that have real impact. In addition to six theme sections where the story of the Army and Air Force is told with modern museum displays, there is a huge presentation area where many impressive collection pieces such as aircraft, tanks, armoured vehicles and helicopters can be viewed, now with an extra focus on equipment from World War II.