The Nationaal Onderduikmuseum in Aalten is dedicated to the people who needed to hide (‘onderduiken’ in Dutch) from the occupier during WW II. It shows how people in the Netherlands and in Germany experienced the war and how they reacted to the occupation in their personal life. Its main purpose is to show that World War II had an immense social and emotional influence on people. The story of the war needs to be told so visitors can understand why people made certain choices.
The location of the museum, Markt 12, just a commonplace address in the eastern part of the Netherlands, tells that story. A family, comprising father, mother and a few children, once lived here. Here, some people hid in the attic and the entire neighbourhood found shelter in the basement against bomb raids while, at the same time, the local German commander had confiscated the large living room to set up his office. All the information is captured in the interior of Markt 12.
Every room has its own theme and a matching interior after the fashion of the occupation years. However, when visitors look closer they will learn that there is a lot to discover. The chairs are decorated with pictures of certain individuals. When you sit down on one of them you’ll get to hear their story. On the radio you’ll hear the queen giving a speech. Draped in the hallway are the coats of a wide range of people. These coats tell the stories of their owners: a collaborator, a profiteer, an NSB member, someone from the resistance and someone who adapted to the German occupiers.
Educational and exciting for all ages!
The house Markt 12
A quick tour
The house, a listed building, is furnished to the atmosphere of the period 1940-1945. The original hiding place and shelter are both still accessible. Markt 12 shows how people in the Netherlands and Germany experienced the war years and how they reacted to the occupation in their personal life. The museum wants to avoid simple answers to a complex history. Although we focus on the stories of Aalten and the community in the border region in the period 40-45, the scope and target are wider.
The Nationaal Onderduikmuseum shows that each situation requires people to make choices, regardless of what country they come from or what faith they have. The historical aspect is updated to the present and the future.

Upon entering the hall, we see it is about making choices during the Second World War: Jews had lit...
Lees meerThe inhabitants of Market 12, a family with children, were forced to share their living space during...
Lees meerThe upstairs room tells the story of the Atlantikwall, the defensive wall built by the Germans alo...
Lees meerDuring World War II, the kitchen was used far too little for which it was intended unfortunately. ...
Lees meerBeneath the house is a cellar, which served as an air raid shelter and where all the people fro...
Lees meerIn the side corridor the central theme is: Propaganda. The Germans as well as the Allies and the op...
Lees meerAt the top, in the attic, a lot is happening. There is an illegal printing house, a hiding place an...
Lees meerNevertheless, despite the hard times, during the war the lives of the residents of the house conti...
Lees meerLike the father of the family, many Dutch men had to work for the Germans: the Arbeitseinsatz. That ...
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