Closed due to inhabitation

On 17 September 1944, Operation Market Garden signalled the start of a fierce battle in Arnhem and Oosterbeek. Shortly afterwards, on 24 September, the Germans ordered the population of Arnhem to evacuate the whole town.

 

Approximately 600 people from Arnhem chose the Open Air Museum as a temporary place to stay. The museum was chock-full. Even a primitive building like the peat cabin was inhabited. The Marken fisherman’s cottage became a shop and part of the merchant’s house became a hospital. It was dangerous being so close to the front. One of the evacuees was killed by a shell burst and, on 3 November, a member of the resistance - Anton Zwiers - was shot dead during a raid.

In the Delft windmill - which, at that time, provided accommodation for three resistance fighters - you will see a permanent audiovisual presentation about the evacuation. Unique historical photographs, along with extracts from the diary of the wife of the museum's acting director, tell the story of an emotional period in which the museum about the history of daily life played a crucial role in the history of Arnhem and in the daily life of 600 evacuees from the districts of Alteveer and Geitenkamp.