Museum of WWII - Natick, MA

[JasonT]

Hi Everyone,

 

I know there are a couple of posts on the forum from fellow members that mention the Museum of WWII in Natick, Massachusetts, but thought I start a thread dedicated to it.

 

Here is the basic information:

 

Museum of WWII

8 Mercer Rd, Natick, Massachusetts (about 20-30 minutes directly west of Boston)

www.museumofworldwarii.com

 

I made my first way overdue visit to this museum yesterday and was blown away by what they had on display. My wife came along with me and though she is a not a collector or history buff, she couldn't believe some of items artifacts they had on display and left very impressed. First off, it's different then other museums in the fact that it is a privately owned collection. Also, some of the material is even available to touch and handle - though carefully! I will definitely be back here again.

 

People are not joking when they say it is perhaps the greatest WWII artifact collection in the world.

 

Just a few of the amazing items they have:

 

-actual maps and plans of the most famous battles of the war

-dozens of personal items, documents and correspondence by everyone from Ike, Patton, Roosevelt, Tojo, Hitler, Churchill, Mussolini, Himmler, and many more

-Patton's swords, battle helmet, baton

-Sherman tank from North Africa campaign

-D-day equipment and artifacts

-uniforms and small arms by all major nations

-Norden bombsight

-German Enigma machines - two of which you can actually handle and use

 

There is also a very emotional section dedicated to the Holocaust and dozens of personal items owned by Hitler from his SA uniform, drawings/writings, his dog Blondie's leather collar, even a piece of the upholstery from the sofa he and Eva Braun died on in the bunker.

 

If you are in the Boston area, I would strongly recommend visiting. You will not regret it. The only caveat is that visits must be scheduled ahead of time, but all that information is posted on their website.

 

If anyone here has already been here, feel free to share your own experience!

[JasonT]

Thought I would post this for those members here in New England, and anyone else who was aware of it's existence, as it did fly under the radar.

 

Sadly, the museum closed last week unexpectedly. Here is a link to the news article explaining what happened. Personally, it will be a great loss as I always enjoyed visiting there once or twice a year. I also feel bad for the vets who volunteered and for the students who will miss out. I understand though why the owner had to do what he did, as you won't get the necessary funding in the suburbs that you would in Boston or even if they were able to relocate the collection to Washington DC. I just hope the new owner who bought most of the collection for $25 million will allow the public to view these one of kind, priceless artifacts, wherever they end up.

 

https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/20190903/naticks-international-museum-of-world-war-ii-abruptly-closes-sunday