Luxembourg
Bookmark
Share
Directions
The General Patton Memorial Museum in Ettelbruck was inaugurated in 1995. The museum is dedicated to US-General George S. Patton, commander of the 3rd US Army, whose troops liberated the town in December 1944. More than 1,000 photographs and documents are displayed relating to the German invasion, as well as weapons and pieces of equipment discovered on the Ardennes battlefield.
In addition to the impressive statue of General Patton, the museum also houses a rich documentation of the general's life. Visitors are even offered the opportunity to view some of General Patton's personal belongings. Not far from the museum is the famous Patton Memorial, where Remembrance Day was held annually from 1954 to 2004. This internationally known event in the town of Ettelbrück is also fittingly thematised in the museum.
The exhibition area of the museum is 650 square metres on four floors with the different themes of the terrible times during the Second World War shown in chronological order, upon request during an educational guided tour. With a unique collection of thousands of photographs, documents and historical objects, the museum in particular illustrates the Luxembourg independence celebration of 1939. Other topics covered include the 'Schusterlinie’, the German invasion in May 1940, the repression and persecution during the Nazi occupation various Nazi organisations and the terrible destruction caused by the Battle of the Bulge. Furthermore, the museum deals with the Winter Relief Organisation, the events of the general strike in 1942, the forced integration of young Luxembourgers into the German labour service and the Wehrmacht, the emergence of the Luxembourg resistance movements, then the liberation by US-American troops in September 1944, and lastly the terrible destruction of the country caused by the Battle of the Bulge.
A special room is dedicated to the lesser known subjects of military archaeology and the aerial warfare over Luxembourg. The museum presents a very rich collection of weapons, ammunition, equipment, and artefacts recovered from the former battlefields in Luxembourg since the war. A particular attraction are the aircraft engines, some of which are still in good condition, the on-board weapons and flight instruments distorted by the impact, defused ammunition, as well as abundantly documented additional information on various sites and wreckage, which are a special feature of the museum.
The museum is at your disposal for further information.