Stichting Bevrijdingsmuseum Maastricht
Born from interest, built with passion and joy
Stichting Bevrijdingsmuseum Maastricht was founded by Pierre Rieu. As a child, he loved spending time with his grandparents. "In their bedroom there were photo albums from the Second World War. When they couldn’t me, I would have my nose in those books. It was only after they died that I discovered their war history. My grandfather was a German Jew who escaped, and my grandmother was a resistance fighter."
Its own museum about the Second World War
This discovery led to the idea of his own museum. Today, Pierre is no longer alone in his plan. For years he has been building this special museum with a team of 25 volunteers. Every week the group meets to build the scenes.
Pierre: "It's a fantastic group with a wide range of professionals. We have one common denominator: we think this museum should exist. We believe that NOW more than ever it is important to tell the story of what happened. How it could happen, and how dangerous it is to treat groups of people differently from others. The role of the media was huge then, as it is now. We want to make visitors aware of that."
Our mission and dream
We want to familiarise young people in the second and third years of secondary school with the events of the Second World War. By making them aware of the social situation at the time, we hope that they will be able to better understand war situations today.
Pierre Rieu comes from the world of entertainment and this is also the approach taken by the museum. The scenes are full of images and sounds that draw visitors into the story. When they return home in the evening or talk about their day in class afterwards, it is clear how much they have learned and taken away from the visit.
Board of Directors
The board of Stichting Bevrijdingsmuseum Maastricht consists of:
- Pierre Rieu, chairman
- Gilbert Joskin, treasurer
- Jac van den Boogaard, secretary
Board members do not receive any remuneration for their services. They are, however, entitled to reimbursement of expenses incurred in this capacity.
Stichting bevrijdingsmuseum Maastricht has drawn up a policy plan, read more here. (Dutch only)
