CRASH Luchtoorlog- en Verzetsmuseum '40-'45

Really interesting museum on a nice location, all info in dutch and english. Lifesize Spitfire. Lots of models. Very friendly and helpful staff. Worth a visit

Welcoming Staff, Clean and Well Displayed Museum. Quite a vast amount of salvaged memorabilia and gives a good feel for what times were like then. Recommend!

An important part of the hostilities during the Second World War 1940-1945 took place in the air. As the war lasted the Allied industry began to produce increasing numbers of aircraft, The inhabitants of the occupied Netherlands witnessed the overflight of huge air fleets on their way to Germany. Through intensive air bombardments the Allies tried to paralyze the German war industry and break the morale of the population. Fierce battles with German hunting squads were the result, while the notorious FLAK (the German anti-aircraft gun) took its toll. The Netherlands, on the main approach route for the Allies, also got its share of battles. Thousands of aircraft of either friend and foe were shot down above our country on the outward or return flight, during the day or at night, and disappeared into the ground or into the IJsselmeer, Wadden Sea or North Sea. Although the building was renamed “’t Sunneke” in 1950, it remains connected to the heroic part the Bogaard family and their farm ‘De Zorg’ played during the Second World War. The 75 year old grandpa Hannes Bogaard lived in the small house together with his daughter Aagje, his sons Antheunis (Teun) and Willem and granddaughter Metje (daughter of Hannes jr.). From 1939 till 1943 they hid more than 150 Jewish people who went into hiding there. Besides that it functioned as a kind of intermediate hiding place for about 3.000 Jews who the Bogaard’s sent into hiding at other places. Unfortunately this could not remain unnoticed. The place was known to the people in the area as the “Jews’ farm” and it was raided several times. Generally this was done by mainly Dutch policemen. At a first raid nobody was found but at a second raid on November 11th, 1942 which lasted from 13.00 hrs till well into the evening, a brickwork cellar was discovered, and subsequently 12 adults and a 4-year old girl. During the skirmish in the house the girl ‘Leny’ was “spirited away” by Metje. Thanks to Metje’s action Leny survived the war. The other people were deported and grandpa Hannes was run in. He was released after ten weeks. But still grandpa Hannes Bogaard considered it his duty as a Christian to rescue Jews. In the Autumn of 1943 a third raid took place by Dutch WA members and a couple of SD men. In spite of threats to shoot down Antheunis and to set fire to the farm and also thanks to the inexorable attitude of the Bogaard’s, the hidden people were again saved from arrest and deportation by the Germans. The menace became ever so much heavier. Unfortunately a completely false story by someone who was apprehended for illegal slaughtering with 25 kilograms meat in his possession, would mean the end of the heroic actions of the Bogaard family. At October 6th, 1943 the fourth and fatal raid took place. Henk Rebel, the founder of the Crash AirWar and Resistance museum, dedicated himself to a complete historical account and formulated it as follows in October 1999: ‘When Cor van Stam, during the war Commander of the Interior Armed Forces and three decades later the burgomaster of Haarlemmermeer, opened our first exhibition in 1991, he told us the story about the ‘resistance farm’ of the Bogaard family at the Sloterweg. He wanted to make a museum of the little farm. The entire municipality backed up this plan in 1992. August 20th, 1995 Cor van Stam passed away and from then on the drive behind this initiative stopped. The history of the farm “De Zorg” and of the Bogaard family kept playing through my mind. I wanted to know everything about it, collected pictures, reports and all publications about this brave family and their farm that saw the light in the past. Besides that I contacted the people who went ‘underground’ at that time. All this material and the interviews gave me such a clear picture of what the farm must have looked like in those years that I was able to make an architectural model of the farm as it must have looked like in 1942.’ The model is built to scale and is exhibited in the museum supplemented with authentic photographic material.

Initially, the expectations weren't super high. For an entry price of 3,50 euros, I expected a museum that'd be nice, but not that big. Boy, was I ever wrong. This is not a huge museum like the art museums, but it is not small. With a number of rooms, there is more than enough to see. We had a guide that showed us everything, including stories. He was so incredibly passionate and so much of their stuff has a detailed story with a known background; given by people, recovered by them, sometimes in beautiful coincidences. We spent around 3 hours in the museum, all the time with the guide, and still didn't get to see the full-size Spitfire replica they have. It was great, and hearing the stories behind all the debris, parts, pieces of insignias, clothing and much more, is very touching. This museum really keeps the memories alive in a great way.

One of the best museums ever :) It's all about the personnel and to be honest, all of them are passionate about that - it makes a huge difference when you're there ;)