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We are open in 2024 from Monday, March 25th through Sunday, November 3rd, daily from 10 AM to 5 PM.

THE ‘RUSSIAN WAR’

Texel experienced five relatively calm years of war. Georgian soldiers put an end to that on the night of 5 to 6 April 1945 when our island became the bloody scene of ‘Europe’s last battle’. In a beautifully-designed exhibition, Texel Aviation & War Museum presents extensive coverage of this dramatic episode, which became known on Texel as the ‘Russian War’.

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800 GEORGIAN SOLDIERS

This ‘Russian War’ was sparked by some 800 Georgian soldiers, captured on the eastern front and forced into German military service. Unfamiliar with the differences between all the Soviet populations, Texel’s people called them ‘Russians’ for convenience.
These soldiers mutinied en masse on the night of 5 and 6 April 1945. They cut the throats of almost all the Germans in their battalion. Eyewitnesses said the blood literally flowed through the barracks.

THEY FOUGHT ON FIERCELY FOR DAYS

For a brief moment it seemed the island was liberated. But the occupiers retaliated massively. Right from the next morning the batteries in Den Helder and at the southern tip of Texel launched bombs at Den Burg. Fierce fighting between the ever-increasing German reinforcements and the ever-decreasing Georgian mini-army dragged on for days.

The mutineers did everything they could to stay alive. They sought support from sympathetic Texel inhabitants or, where necessary, persuaded residents by force. The battle only came to an end on 20 May, when Canadian liberators arrived on Texel more than two weeks after the peace had been signed.

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100 TEXEL AND 565 GEORGIAN LIVES LOST

The consequences were appalling. The ‘Russian War’ cost the lives of some 100 Texel people and 565 Georgians. The exact number of German victims was never known because the occupying forces disposed of their dead and wounded directly. But estimates put the number as at least a thousand.

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MATERIAL DAMAGE

There was also enormous material damage. A significant part of Den Burg lay in ruins. Dozens of farms on the Eierland polder went up in flames, and the church at De Waal was destroyed. The lighthouse, the last bastion of the Georgians, was heavily damaged.

The ‘Russian War’, along with the air war, construction of the Atlantic Wall and other events from the Second World War are all covered extensively in the Texel Aviation & War Museum exhibition, created under the expert guidance of a large group of volunteers.

THEMES IN OUR MUSEUM

AVIATION & WAR MUSEUM TEXEL

Postweg 126
1795 JS
De Cocksdorp (Texel)
Tel: 0222-311689

OPENING HOURS

We are open in 2024 from Monday, March 25th through Sunday, November 3rd, daily from 10 AM to 5 PM.

  • Tickets are available at the counter, reservation is not necessary
  • Adults € 8.00
  • Children from 6 to 12 years € 5.00
  • Discounts apply to groups, see below

DOG WITH YOU?

That is allowed, provided it is kept on a leash.

3D AUDIO TOUR BUNKER DE VLIJT

  • Every Wednesday to Saturday at 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM.
    On Sunday only at 3:00 PM.
  • For adults only, from 13 years old
  •  Duration maximum 1.5 hours including the walk there and back
  • Reservations are not possible, capacity is limited
  • Be present well in advance for an explanation

Together with a museum employee you walk to the bunker opposite the museum. In the bunker you will be taken into the conversations that were held there during the 2 most crucial days of the Georgian Uprising. Jetty Bakker also tells in a timeline her memories of the war on Texel and about her work for the Georgians. You will receive an explanatory handout in advance with a description of the dire circumstances in which the Georgian soldiers found themselves during those days. The 3D audio tour can be done in both Dutch and German.

GROUPS

Would you like to visit our museum with a group (from 12 people)? Then we appreciate it if you make a reservation via groepen@lomt.nl. You can also indicate whether you would like a guided tour.

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