The exhibition “My Childhood, 1939-1945” explores the daily lives of French and Canadian children during the Second World War and the war’s impact on civilian populations, particularly on youth.How did youth navigate this era, how were they transformed by the war, and how, for French children, did they experience the Occupation, the liberation, the battles, and the post-war reconstruction?Through immersive modules and testimonies, the exhibition compares the realities of the Occupation in France and the impact of the war on children in Canada.Visitors will better understand how childhoods were disrupted, their adaptations to new daily routines and how they experienced grief, gratitude toward Canadian soldiers, and regained freedom.The stories will be presented through several key themes:<ul><li>The Weight of Occupation (1940–1944) at school and at home</li><li>D-Day (June 6, 1944)</li><li>The Battle of Normandy (June–September 1944)</li><li>Liberation and the scars of war (1944 to today)</li><li>The “absences” experienced by French and Canadian children</li></ul>Learn more here: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.junobeach.org/exhibitions/my-childhood-1939-1945/">https://www.junobeach.org/exhibitions/my-childhood-1939-1945/</a>

France

Exhibition: "My childhood, 1939-1945" at Juno Beach Centre

The exhibition covers the period from the mid-17th century, when a sandbank known as the Western Bank formed at the mouth of the Vistula River, to mid-1941, when the Westerplatte branch of the German Stutthof concentration camp for civilian prisoners was closed.The location of the exhibition is not coincidental – it is the historic former Power Plant building of the Polish Military Transit Depot, renovated and arranged for exhibition purposes. The exhibition features the archaeological discoveries related to the site, the everyday life of the depot, the difficult and responsible service of Polish soldiers in the face of growing hatred of the Germans towards Polish presence in the area of the Free City of Gdańsk, and the camp for Polish civilian prisoners set up by the Germans after the seven-day battle (1–7 September 1939). The curators aim to make visitors aware that Westerplatte is not only a peninsula heroically defended by a small unit of Polish soldiers, but also the site of German crimes against Polish civilians. The exhibition also intends to highlight the symbolic significance of Westerplatte as the place where the Second World War began.Start your visit at Westerplatte with the Visitor Centre [Centrum Obsługi Zwiedzających ‘Pole Bitwy Westerplatte’]. At the information desk, you will obtain information related to the history of Westerplatte. Assistance in planning the route, finding a guide and information will help discover the monuments in the area. The building overlooking the sea provides visitors with a rest stop. It is adapted for people with disabilities.

Poland

Exhibition ‘Memory buried beneath the surface. Archaeology of Westerplatte’

Discover History Like Never Before at the Channel Islands Military Museum!Step into the past and uncover the incredible stories of courage, resilience, and survival at the Channel Islands Military Museum in Jersey! Housed in a beautifully preserved German bunker from WWII, this one-of-a-kind museum offers an immersive experience that brings history to life.Explore Authentic Artifacts | Get up close and personal with rare memorabilia, from uniforms and weapons to personal diaries and photographs. Each item tells a story of life during wartime, shedding light on both soldiers and civilians.Experience the Occupation Era | Jersey was the only part of the British Isles to be occupied by German forces during WWII. Walk through the museum’s evocative displays to feel what it was like to live through this pivotal moment in history.Uncover Hidden Stories | Discover untold tales of bravery, ingenuity, and resistance. Whether you're a history buff or simply curious, the museum offers fascinating insights that will stay with you long after your visit.Step Inside a Genuine WWII Bunker | Not just a museum—this is a piece of history itself! Experience the atmosphere of an authentic German bunker, perfectly preserved to give you a glimpse into the past.Perfect for All Ages | Whether you're on a family trip, a school excursion, or an individual adventure, the Channel Islands Military Museum is an unforgettable journey for everyone.Plan Your Visit Today! 📍 Location: St. Ouen’s Bay, Jersey 🕒 Open: January to April = 10am - 1pm on Sundays | April to October = 10am - 5pm daily 🎟️ Tickets: Affordable prices for individuals, families, and groupsDon’t miss the chance to step back in time and experience history like never before. Visit the Channel Islands Military Museum—where every artifact, every story, and every wall whispers the legacy of those who lived through history.

Jersey

Channel Island Military Museum

As you journey through the winding passages, you’ll be transported to a time of resilience and survival, where the bravery of the islanders is brought to life through powerful exhibits and immersive storytelling. Stand where history was made and explore the tunnels that stretch over 1,000 meters, an eerie yet fascinating reminder of wartime struggles.<ul><li>Feel the Past Come Alive: Walk through life-sized exhibits that capture the occupation’s harsh realities and the hope that endured.</li><li>Go Beyond the Walls: Learn personal stories of hardship and heroism, from islanders and workers whose lives were changed forever.</li><li>Experience the Unimaginable: See artifacts, propaganda, and military equipment that paint a vivid picture of life under German rule.</li></ul>Whether you’re a history enthusiast, a curious traveler, or simply looking for a powerful experience, the Jersey War Tunnels will captivate your heart and mind.Dive deep into the mysteries of World War II with 'Operation Constellation' and 'Prison Break'. Can you crack codes, solve puzzles, and uncover secrets to escape in time? Gather your team and embark on an unforgettable adventure where history meets adrenaline at Jersey War Tunnels Escape Rooms.Don’t just read about history—step inside it.

Jersey War Tunnels

<h4>Discover some of the best preserved WW2 Fortifications in Europe!</h4>The Channel Island Occupation Society (CIOS) Jersey is a voluntary registered charity that has been preserving, restoring and opening German fortifications for around 50 years and has under its wing an impressive range of the standard types of fortifications (Regelbau) constructed locally with most constructed to strict ‘Fortress Standards’ with 2 meter thick concrete reinforced walls and roofs. Many of these structures are restored to near operation condition as well as presenting details of the original crew who manned them and the forced labour used in the construction. A visit to one of our open days will present you with a working atmosphere feel with the chance to get hands on with equipment used at the time as well as events with living history groups presenting relevant displays. How or when can I visit? We open the three largest sites in our care regularly, with details below, which are Battery Lothringen (Noirmont Point), Strongpoint Corbiere and Battery Moltke (Les Landes Common), along with other openings that be pre-advertised on CIOS social media platforms. Visit any of our sites on a guided tour with the experts at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.jerseybunkertours.com/">Jersey War Tours</a> or join us on one of our open days!RESISTANCE NEST MILLBROOK | Regelbau 631b Flanking Anti-Tank Gun Casemate for a 4.7cm Gun with coaxial Machine Gun. INFANTRY RESISTANCE NEST LA CARRIERE | Regelbau 631 Flanking Anti-Tank Gun Casemate for a 4.7cm gun with coaxial machine gun and a Regelbau Jaegerstand Coastal Defense Gun Casemate.‘KERNWERK’ BATTLE HEADQUARTERS AT L’ALEVAL | Regelbau Kanalinsel Nr. 531 Infantry Regiment Command Post.INFANTRY RESISTANCE NEST LA MARE MILL | Regelbau Wa.Prüf 543 4-Loopholed Heavy Machine Gun Turret Bunker. *Currently closed while undergoing renovation*BATTERY LOTHRINGEN | Kriegsmarine (Naval) 15cm coastal artillery battery. Regelbau M 132 Leitstand (Command Bunker) &amp; Naval Direction and Range Finding Tower MP1 plus multiple other constructions in the battery.Confirmed Sunday Opening Times 2-5pm | May 18th, June 15th, July 20th, August 17th, September 21st &amp; October 19th Admission: Adults £8, under 16s free. INFANTRY STRONGPOINT CORBIERE | Early Type Regelbau 633 5cm M19 automatic Fortress Mortar Bunker connected to a Regelbau 634 6-Loopholed Heavy Machine Gun Turret Bunker, Regelbau Jaegerstand Coastal Defence Gun Casemate “Kanone 2” for mounting a 10.5cm gun, Regelbau Kanalinsel Nr. 514 Group Personnel Shelter &amp; Regelbau Jaegerstand Coastal Defence Gun Casemate “Kanone 1” for mounting a 10.5cm gunConfirmed Sunday Opening Times 2-5pm with a minimum of 3 bunkers open | April 27th, May 11th, June 8th &amp; 29th, July 6th, August 3rd, September 7th &amp; October 5thAdmission: Adults £10, under 16s free.KRIEGSMARINE STRONGPOINT BUTTS AT LES LANDES COMMON | Naval Direction and Range Finding Tower MP3 and a Regelbau Fl 242 2cm Anti-Aircraft Gun Emplacement.BATTERY ‘MOLTKE’ AT LES LANDES COMMON | The position consists of the following interconnected structures: Regelbau M 151 Personnel Shelter for 25 Men , Regelbau M 153 Emplacement for a 15cm Turreted Naval Gun, 2 x Regelbau 512 Ammunition bunkers and a ‘temporary’ Emplacement for a 155mm Field Gun. Confirmed Sunday Opening Times 2-5pm | May 4th, June 1st, July 6th, August 3rd, September 7th &amp; October 5th Admission: Adults £8, under 16s free.

Channel Island Occupation Society: Bunker Open Days

From 19 September, the exhibition will be open to the public until 15 November, closing the European tour of the project after previous stops at the Polo del Novecento in Turin (Nuto Revelli Foundation), the Bastogne War Museum in Belgium and the Sybir Memorial Museum in Poland. Bringing together artists Rebekka Bauer, Raphaël Dallaporta, Juhana Moisander and Gail Ritchie, the show presents works born from residencies undertaken at these hosting memorial sites, offering visitors a sensitive, intimate new way to engage with history.The exhibition can also be discovered online <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.art-of-remembrance.eu/exhibition/">here</a>.La Coupole as a Residency SiteAs one of the project’s partner institutions, La Coupole welcomed artist Gail Ritchie for an extended residency, opening its archives, its underground tunnels and the expertise of its team to her research. Set within a monumental former V2 rocket base turned museum, the site offered a space shaped by the convergence of architecture, technology and history of forced labour and local communities impacted by the war. Its architecture, archives and surrounding landscape became central to Ritchie’s work.&nbsp;Working from a small studio within the museum, Ritchie spent her residency moving between historical material, architectural experience and contemporary interpretation, allowing ideas to emerge gradually through repeated visits, conversation, observation and making.Gail Ritchie: Between Progress and SufferingGail Ritchie is a Northern Irish visual artist based in Belfast whose practice explores the emotional impact of conflict, memory and loss through drawing, sculpture, installation and research. With academic training in both political science and fine art, she brings a multidisciplinary perspective to questions of how histories are internalised and remembered across time. In 2025, she received the Major Individual Artist Award from the Arts Council Northern Ireland in recognition of her practice, and her work is held in collections including the National Museums of Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Government Collection.During her residency, Ritchie was drawn to a recurring tension at the heart of La Coupole: the coexistence of opposing narratives, including scientific ambition and forced labour, technological progress and human suffering, ambitions of space exploration and the realities of exploitation. Fragments uncovered in the archive resonated deeply, from Maurice Bourdon’s recipe notebook, an act of imaginative survival under deprivation, to photographs of Hector, a laboratory rat sent into space and later killed. These encounters shaped a body of work attentive to how lives, human and non-human, are instrumentalised by systems of power.The exhibition presents four works from her residency. The Party juxtaposes a repainted vintage ceramic plate, in the camouflage colours of the V2 rocket, with an aluminium egg, bringing together domestic decoration, militarised aesthetics and Bourdon’s culinary acts of resistance. Hector (In memorium 1961) is a life-sized aluminium rat in an anti-gravity suit, suspended in space, memorialising the French space programme’s laboratory animal and drawing a parallel with the forced labourers of La Coupole, both treated as expendable bodies in the name of progress. The drawing series Crater / Creatura connects the site’s underground tunnels, the bombed wartime landscape, the cratered surface of the moon and the imprint of an egg dropped into concrete, linking geological, architectural and bodily forms of rupture. Finally, Macha – a taxidermy crow nesting in aluminium and silver wire above a concrete egg –&nbsp; draws on the wildlife now reclaiming the site and on the shape-shifting Irish goddess of war and transformation, bringing together fragility, endurance and survival.&nbsp;Across each piece, Ritchie’s work opens a space for reflection on how systems of power shape and instrumentalise lives, treating La Coupole not simply as a site of wartime history, but as a place where the tensions between progress and violence continue to resonate.

Art of Remembrance Exhibition at La Coupole Museum

More than just an episode of the Second World War, captivity was an unprecedented social phenomenon that became part of the trauma of France's defeat. Nearly every family was affected, either directly or indirectly. The absence of so many able-bodied men weighed heavily on society, leaving women and children to cope with the hardships of everyday life.Initially confined in the Frontstalags (prisoner-of-war camps in occupied France), the prisoners were later dispersed among the Stalags and Oflags across Germany, forming part of the vast internment system established by the Third Reich throughout the territories under its control, including Poland, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. Their lives were shaped by the demands of the German war economy, which alternately welcomed and distrusted this forced labor force. The fate of the prisoners became a major concern for the Vichy government, which pursued every possible compromise in an effort to improve their situation. Deprived of their freedom for five years, exiled in a foreign land, and separated from their families, the prisoners had to draw on their inner strength to endure this ordeal with dignity.<h5>Discover the Exhibition as a Family!</h5>Step into history alongside Jean, our prisoner-guide and the exhibition's mascot. Children aged 7 and up are invited to explore the exhibition in a fun and interactive way. By scanning QR codes throughout the exhibition, they can download smartphone content created especially for them.Inside the exhibition, a dedicated children's area offers:<ul><li>A reconstructed prisoner barracks room (chambrée)</li><li>Hands-on exploration of replica historical documents and objects</li><li>Board games</li><li>Self-guided workshops and activities</li></ul>Together, these features provide an immersive and educational experience for the whole family.

French Prisoners of War: History of a Captive Community (1940–1945)

Many of you visited this fantastic event in 2025! See you in December 2026 for the 82nd anniversary!<ul><li>Recreated period camps</li><li>Exhibition of vintage vehicles</li><li>Convoys of historic vehicles and armoured vehicles</li><li>Roadbook route for period vehicles</li><li>Introduction to an engineering unit</li><li>Visit to the Manhay History 44 Museum</li><li>Battlefield re-enactment with pyrotechnic show</li><li>WWII shop and militaria fair</li><li>Mass for those who fell in battle</li><li>Tributes to the liberators</li><li>1940-45 musical entertainment</li><li>Bar and catering on site</li></ul>Free admissionFull programme and registration : <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.ardennes-history-remember.be/en/programme-2026/">https://www.ardennes-history-remember.be/en/programme-2026/</a>

Belgium 

Battle of the Bulge Manhay 2026

MUSEUM SCHUILEN IN MAASTRICHT…weer geopend in 2026Ga mee!…… en maak een stap naar beneden, terug in de tijd! Bezoek een uniek museum onder in de eeuwenoude kazematten van Maastricht. Het Schuilkeldermuseum bevindt zich op een plek waar ook daadwerkelijk werd geschuild, tijdens WOII en schuilervaringen zijn vastgelegd. U voelt meteen de sfeer zoals deze was in 1940-1945, wanneer er een ernstige dreiging uit de lucht kon vallen. In het museum vindt u in de vitrines herinneringen aan de Tweede Wereldoorlog en de inrichting voor de Koude Oorlog, na WOII. Er zijn vrijwilligers, die u de weg wijzen. Ga terug in de geschiedenis en laat ook jonge bezoekers zien hoe actueel een Schuilkelder kan zijn, in het onrustige Europa van dit moment. Uniek is dat het museum verscholen ligt onder een woonwijk. Tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog groeven de bewoners ook via zelf gegraven gangen, onder in hun kelders of tuin, een weg naar beneden, naar de Schuilkelder. Onze werkgroep heeft nauwe banden onderhouden met de mensen die hier daadwerkelijk geschuild hebben.&nbsp;Openingstijd:14.00 uur - 16.00 uurToegang is gratis.<h2>Openingstijden 2026</h2><ul><li>15-03-26:14.00 - 16.00 uur</li><li>19-04-26:14.00 - 16.00 uur</li><li>17-05-26 :14.00 - 16.00 uur</li><li>21-06-26:14.00 - 16.00 uur</li><li>19-07-26:14.00 - 16.00 uur</li><li>16-08-26:14.00 - 16.00 uur</li><li>20-09-26:14.00 - 16.00 uur</li><li>18-10-26:14.00 - 16.00 uur</li><li>15-11-26:14.00 - 16.00 uur</li><li>13-12-26:14.00 - 16.00 uur&nbsp;</li></ul>Museum informatieLOCATIE: SchuilkeldermuseumMinister Goeman Borgesiusplantsoen 306214 SE&nbsp; Maastricht&nbsp;Meer informatie &gt; <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.schuileninmaastricht.com">www.schuileninmaastricht.com</a>E-mail &gt; <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:info@schuileninmaastricht.com">info@schuileninmaastricht.com</a>Facebook&gt; <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.facebook.com/schuileninmaastricht">www.facebook.com/schuileninmaastricht</a>&nbsp;

The Netherlands

Schuilkeldermuseum Maastricht

The visit offers insight into the bunker's historical significance and military function. Walking through the dark, atmospheric tunnels, you’ll learn about the bunker's role in defending the Atlantic Wall during the war and its connections to the fierce battles of Normandy, fought less than 20 miles away.You will get access to a range of original World War Two artefacts and weapons, where guests can touch and interact with the past. One of the highlights is the opportunity to climb aboard an authentic World War Two GMC truck, sitting on the benches just as soldiers once did.The visit lasts just under one hour, providing a detailed and hands-on experience of this fascinating piece of history. With small group sizes, the experience feels personal and intimate, offering an unforgettable journey through one of Jersey's most important defensive positions of WWII. Whether you’re a history buff or simply curious, St. Catherine's Bunker offers an authentic and hands-on encounter with the past.<ul><li>Weekends with hourly start times from 10:15&nbsp;</li><li>Small group sizes per opening time slot</li><li>Bookings are only accepted online - Book early to avoid disappointment</li><li>Profits from sales are invested back into the restoration of this site and its upkeep&nbsp;</li></ul>

Exhibition: "My childhood, 1939-1945" at Juno Beach Centre

Mémoire écrite dans le sol, L’archéologie de Westerplatte

Le Musée Militaire des îles Anglo-Normandes

Jersey War Tunnels

Channel Island Occupation Society: Bunker Open Days

Art of Remembrance Exhibition at La Coupole Museum

Les prisonniers de guerre français, Histoire d’une communauté captive (1940-1945)

Battle of the Bulge Manhay 2026

Schuilkeldermuseum Maastricht

Visites du bunker Sainte-Catherine

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Exhibition: "My childhood, 1939-1945" at Juno Beach Centre

Mémoire écrite dans le sol, L’archéologie de Westerplatte

Le Musée Militaire des îles Anglo-Normandes

Jersey War Tunnels

Channel Island Occupation Society: Bunker Open Days

Art of Remembrance Exhibition at La Coupole Museum

Les prisonniers de guerre français, Histoire d’une communauté captive (1940-1945)

Battle of the Bulge Manhay 2026

Schuilkeldermuseum Maastricht

Visites du bunker Sainte-Catherine

Inscrivez votre événement sur Europe Remembers