The National Museum of Military History (french: Musée national d'histoire militaire, german: Nationales Museum für Militärgeschichte), abbreviated to MNMH, is a
national museum
A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater num ...
in
Diekirch
Diekirch ( lb, Dikrech or (locally) ; from ''Diet-Kirch'', i.e. "people's church") is a commune with town status in north-eastern Luxembourg, capital city of the canton Diekirch and, until its abolition in 2015, the district of Diekirch. The t ...
, in north-eastern
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...
, that includes amongst its exhibits military vehicles and weaponry, a photographic archive, and lifesize
diorama
A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle mode ...
s displaying military servicemen and actions.
Museum
The museum originally developed out of the Diekirch Historical Museum (opened in 1984), which was primarily dedicated to the
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war ...
in Luxembourg in winter 1944–45. The museum is located in the complex of the Diekirch 'old brewery', 200m from the town center.
The main topic of the museum remains the balanced and objective historical representation of the military operations in the Ardennes from the American, German, and civilian points of view. Over 3000 square metres of exhibition space and numerous lifesize dioramas enable an insight of the dramatic and tragic situations that both soldiers and civilians were caught in. Special showrooms feature extensive collections of weapons, uniforms, military equipment of all kind, wheeled and tracked vehicles, in addition to numerous personal soldiers' belongings, photographs, documents, and maps. The museum's core piece is the detailed mock-up of the night-time
Sauer
The Sauer ( German and Luxembourgish, , ) or Sûre ( French, ) is a river in Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. A left tributary of the Moselle, its total length is .
Rising near Vaux-sur-Sûre in the Ardennes in southeastern Belgium, the Saue ...
river crossing at Diekirch on January 18, 1945 by units of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
5th Infantry Division.descriptio here (The Last Offensive. Chepter VI: ''Bitburg and the Vianden Bulge'', p. 101-106) The museum's World War II collection is regarded as one of the finest of Western Europe.
A second part of the MNHM museum is dedicated to the history of the
military of Luxembourg
The Luxembourg Armed Forces (; french: Armée luxembourgeoise) are the national military force of Luxembourg. The army has been a fully volunteer military since 1967. , it has 939 personnel.
The army is under civilian control, with the grand ...
since the creation of Luxembourg as a state, until present. A number of large-scale dioramas cover key aspects and periods of the Luxembourgian army since the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. Other sections are dedicated to Luxembourgers fighting in allied armies in the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighti ...
, the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, and during the
Korean War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Korean War
, partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict
, image = Korean War Montage 2.png
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Clockwise from top:{{ ...
.
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
missions in which Luxembourg has participated are also covered and special displays provide an overview of daily military life.
The National Museum of Military History is a founding member of the Belgian-Luxembourg Association of the Museums of the Battle of the Ardennes (AMBA) and a European partner of the
National World War II Museum
The National WWII Museum, formerly known as The National D-Day Museum, is a military history museum located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., on Andrew Higgins Drive between Camp Street and Magazine Street. The m ...
Courier
A courier is a person or organisation that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...
with
Panzerfaust
The ''Panzerfaust'' (, "armour fist" or "tank fist", plural: ''Panzerfäuste'') was a development family of single-shot man-portable anti-tank systems developed by Nazi Germany during World War II. The weapons were the first single-use light an ...
Military History
Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships.
Professional historians no ...
