ASBL Bastogne Memorial - World War II Reference Center

The Bastogne Memorial association, created in 2014, has the capital mission to preserve and perpetuate the material and immaterial heritage collections themed «Second World War» of the city of Bastogne and the Bastogne War Museum. These collections consist of several thousand objects and various documents related to the civil or military history of the Second World War. By extension, these collections also include some content related to other contemporary conflicts and the memory of these in the individual and collective ideology.

A part of the collections is visible since 2014 in the display cases of the Bastogne War Museum. Objects from the original collections, or received later, which are not exhibited, are inventoried in a general inventory and classified in the new collection reserves of the Bastogne War Museum. Private donations regularly received at the Bastogne War Museum are treated by the Bastogne Memorial association with the same interest since the association makes it a point of honour to find them a safe place in the collection reserves or in a museum’s area when it is possible.

Since a few years, the Bastogne Memorial association also collects archives, books, newspapers and periodicals related to the History of the Battle of the Bulge, but also a whole set of testimonies of civil or military personalities and of witnesses of fact, recorded on paper or digitally. Aware that these various collections offer rich research perspectives on the history and issues of the Battle, the association strives to promote them and make them available to an audience of researchers on the one hand but also to a school audience (young public) as part of courses or studies on the subject on the other hand. The implementation of the documents received in a database, as well as the deposit of archives in a brand-new documentation center located in the heart of the Bastogne War Museum, must be carried out in a rigorous and methodical way. This implies the need of human resources and vital forces, passionate or professional in the sector, as well as the financing of its resources.

However, the remaining work to make this area fully operational to archiving and research is still important. The same applies to the objects. The organization of the reserves involves the purchase of furniture, specific processing and preservation devices, etc. The work of inventorying all these objects and documents in the database must also be continued after manual sorting. All these tasks take time and must be carried out with rigor, method and precision, requiring significant financial and human investments.

Bastogne Memorial is therefore positioned as a guarantor of the preservation of the heritage collections of Bastogne linked to the Second World War. The sustainability of these objects and documents, true witnesses of a significant episode in our history, and their enhancement for future generations is crucial and is therefore the subject of continuous reflection in our services.

In addition to these missions of conservation and preservation, Bastogne Memorial also pursues more touristic goals such as the structuring and promotion of Memory Tourism. With this in mind, the association’s mission is to create real synergies between itself and other emblematic sites of the Battle of the Bulge as well as between all sites on the battlefield. To this end, some projects have already been carried out. Examples include the development and sharing of an interactive map of museums, cemeteries, monuments, memorials, commemorative plaques/steles, historic vehicles and sites directly related to the Battle of the Bulge throughout the battlefield territory. The association also develops travelling temporary exhibitions highlighting the heritage and activities of several partner structures.