The Museum of World War II is a private museum devoted to World War II located in Natick, Massachusetts, a few miles west of Boston. Visits to the museum are arranged several days each week by appointment.[1] Formed over a period of more than 50 years by its founder, Kenneth W. Rendell, the museum's collections document in detail the events of the war, from the signing of the Versailles Treaty, which ended World War I, to the Nuremberg and Tokyo war crimes trials, which brought the Second World War to its close. His goal is to preserve the history of World War II and to provide an educational experience.
On display are over 6,000 artifacts as well 83 mannequins outfitted in complete uniforms and military equipment. The collections include highly important wartime letters, documents, and manuscripts of all the major political and military leaders, as well as the papers of officers and soldiers of all ranks, concentration camp inmates, and civilians. Adolf Hitler, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Sir Winston Churchill, Dwight D. Eisenhower, George S. Patton, Bernard Montgomery, Joseph Stalin, Erwin Rommel, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Mengele, Adolf Eichmann, Raoul Wallenberg, and Anne Frank's family are all represented in original letters.
It has been described by London's Imperial War Museum as "a fully staffed private collection containing the most comprehensive display of original World War II artifacts on exhibit anywhere in the world." Rendell has commented, "If a visitor is overwhelmed with the enormity and the complexity of the war, I have achieved my goal."
Contents |
Documents and manuscripts of particular importance include Hitler's draft of the Munich Agreement with his notations as well as Neville Chamberlain's; the first message alerting the armed forces of the attack on Pearl Harbor; General Patton's letter to the Sultan of Morocco announcing the American landings and threats of destruction; Montgomery's address to the troops before El Alamein; Patton's annotated map for the invasion of Sicily; the complete plans for the D-Day invasion in Normandy; and Douglas MacArthur's draft of the Japanese surrender terms.
Among the significant artifacts are Hitler's SA (Sturm Abteilung or Storm Trooper) shirt; his first sketch for the Nazi flag; his reading glasses; Patton's battle helmet; Montgomery's beret; and copies of Mein Kampf (My Struggle/My Battle) belonging to Hitler, President Roosevelt, and General Patton. There are also five different Enigma code machines, including the ten-rotor T-52, of which only five are extant; an American Sherman tank from the North African campaign, a German Kubelwagen, a German Goliath tank from Normandy, and one of the very few surviving original landing craft (LCVP) from the Pacific.
The Collections, which are arranged chronologically and geographically, include artifacts, manuscript and printed material in the following areas:
The Museum's archival collections include manuscript and printed material as well over 20,000 photographs and about 750 photograph albums that document and give insight into military and civilian life and activities during World War II.
Propaganda leaflets dropped by planes over Europe and the Pacific (these number over 10,000).
Black propaganda material includes forged currency, postage stamps, newspapers, official army discharge documents, and identity papers, as well as fake ration stamps.
A Frenchman's collection of newspapers, handbills, posters, documents, leaflets, and other printed pieces documenting the French Resistance.
Printed material documenting the Russian Invasion includes German plans to strip Russia of its natural resources, a complete set of the invasion maps and booklets, and bombing and artillery target maps.
Diaries of Prisoners of War written on cigarette paper and other available materials, from both Japanese and German camps stress the boredom and longing for home.
The archive of Douglas MacArthur's Chief of Staff for Public Relations document his life and actions, from the time of the Japanese air raid on Manila the day after Pearl Harbor to the evacuation from Corregidor, and the return to the Philippines and the Japanese surrender.
The D-Day papers reflect on the Normandy Invasion.
Manuscripts and artifacts from the collection have been exhibited at the Imperial War Museum, London; National Archives; West Point; Museum of Our National Heritage; Grolier Club, New York; University of Southern California; the Newseum, Washington, D.C.; the Supreme Court of the United States; the National D-Day Museum, New Orleans; all the Presidential Libraries. Manuscripts and artifacts from the museum have also been illustrated in books and articles, and the museum has been used in documentaries.