Footsteps of WWII · Berlin & eastern Germany
Peenemünde Historical-Technical Museum
Museum · 1937–May 1945
The story
From 1937 the Army Research Centre at Peenemünde, on the island of Usedom, developed Germany's long-range rockets under Walter Dornberger, with Wernher von Braun as technical director; the Luftwaffe tested the V-1 flying bomb next door. Here the A4, later called the V-2, was developed. On the night of 17/18 August 1943 RAF Bomber Command attacked in Operation Hydra, hitting the staff housing first and also the camp at Trassenheide, where forced labourers had no shelters. Production moved to the underground Mittelwerk in the Harz, built and worked by concentration camp prisoners. Soviet troops took the wrecked site in May 1945.
What to look for
The museum fills the huge brick power station of the research centre. Outside are replicas of the A4 rocket and V-1, a V-1 launch ramp and a model of Test Stand VII. Exhibitions cover forced labourers and camp prisoners as well as the engineers.
Plan your visit
April–September 10:00–18:00; October–March 10:00–16:00, closed Mondays November–March. Admission charged. Allow at least three hours. Check the website before you go.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
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Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The whole Second World War in Europe, from the first shots at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939 to the German surrender in May 1945: Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, Normandy, Arnhem, Bastogne, Stalingrad, Berlin and the camps, in 15 areas from Britain to Russia.
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