Texel’s Aviation and War Museum focuses on the history of aviation and Texel’s Second World War experience – fascinating issues, involving far more than you might initially think.
Texel has a close affinity with aviation. Texel International Airport’s history dates right back to 1937, when De Vlijt airfield started operations in the Eierland polder. And there was a naval airbase for seaplanes on the southern tip of Texel as early as 1917.
The exhibition covering 1940-1945 is particularly impressive. A central role is played by the so-called ‘Russian War’ on Texel, the dramatic uprising by Georgian soldiers conscripted into German military service. The mutiny turned Texel into ‘Europe’s last battleground’ in April 1945. There’s also extensive coverage of the Atlantic Wall and the air war over Texel.
