L-R: Bodo Ramelow, President of Thuringen, and Claude Haagen, Mayor of Diekirch; Credit: Jazmin Campbell

Yesterday evening, the Musée d’Histoire(s) Diekirch hosted the opening of its exhibition on Luxembourgers in the German police forces during the Second World War.

The exhibition, created in collaboration with the Musée de la Police Grand-Ducale and the Landesarchiv Thüringen, deals with a dark episode in Luxembourgish history: the forced enrolment of members of the Luxembourg Volunteer Company- predecessor of the Luxembourgish army- in the police forces of Nazi Germany.

Present to open the exhibition on the evening of 4 February 2018 were guest speakers Camille Diener (Musée de la Police Grand-Ducale), who discussed the origins and development of the exhibition, Claude Haagen (Mayor of Diekirch), who presented the municipality of Diekirch, and Bodo Ramelow (President of Thuringen), who spoke of the importance of remembering the past for the future of Europe. This was followed by a short presentation of the historical events behind the exhibition given by Benoit Niederkorn (Military Museum in Diekirch).

Also present at the event were Josy Sauber, a surviving veteran from the Luxembourg Volunteer Company, and Dr Frank Boblenz from the Landesarchiv Thüringen, as well as a large group of interested historians, professors, journalists and other interested parties.

The exhibition, which features images, videos, artefacts and German texts, is open to the public until 25 February 2018, Tuesday-Saturday from 10:00-18:00. Entry is free of charge.