Geert (16) collects war stuff and has set up his own museum

Geert became fascinated by war history at a young age. “As a child I often played on the Rucphense Heide and you sometimes find something there from that time. It’s relatively not that long ago. I think I also got the interest in history from my father.”

The war museum behind the monumental building in which Geert’s parents run a B&B is almost finished. The showcases contain uniforms and attributes from the period of mobilization in 1939 up to and including the liberation of Rucphen in the autumn of 1944. Geert collected these items via Marktplaats and found them at special fairs that collectors of items from the Second World War to hold.

A handwritten postcard of soldier ‘Jan’ from Roosendaal is one of the gems in the museum. “He writes to his family that he is staying in Rucphen and has ‘good hope’ that he will be able to call them soon. Such a personal story makes it extra special,” says Geert.

The young Rucphenaar has built up a wealth of knowledge about what happened in the vicinity of his hometown during the Second World War. “You can find a lot on the internet these days, but I also get a lot of information from books. Sometimes I work on it for hours a day.”

Details about the liberation by the American Timberwolf division at the end of October 1944 or the crashes of Allied planes, Geert effortlessly shakes up. The stories come to life even more because he tells them in the vicinity of the main characters’ uniforms on display.

With his HAVO diploma just in his pocket, Geert can fully focus on his passion in the coming period. “I’m going to start with open days first and then I’ll see how it goes.” People who want to visit the brand new war museum can keep an eye on the Facebook page ‘war museum Rucphen’.