The original plan for a nice morning in Peenemünde was to visit the world's biggest U-Boot at the harbor, the weather - however - made us opt for a more reasonable combination of out- and indoor.
The Historical Technical Museum is located on the ground of an Army Test Site which, between 1936 and 1945, was one of the most modern of its kind.
The Historical Technical Museum is located on the ground of an Army Test Site which, between 1936 and 1945, was one of the most modern of its kind.
In those years, the Nazi regime was building and using the most advanced weapons to obtain supremacy over its enemies, but the victims were not only the populations hit by the bombs and rockets! The rapid construction of this site and of weapons had been made possible by a cruel exploitation of war prisoners and concentration camp inmates.
Rockets were mass-produced in Peenemünde and were called "Vergeltungswaffe 2" (Vengeance Weapon 2*) by the Nazi propagandists.
Very soon the snow made the outdoors pretty uncomfortable, so we found shelter in the old power plant, where original parts of rockets, scale models of the site, posters by the Nazi propaganda and old magazines are on display.
Future's Fantasies (not too far from today's reality)
Woman in the Moon (1929) by Fritz Lang is a science fiction movie which presented for the first time the possibility of space-ship travels to a broad audience.
We reached Peenemünde by train, using the Usedomer Bäder Bahn from Zinnowitz (on the right hand side of the map, south-east of Peenemünde).
A very comprehensive website about Slave Labor in the Space Age: Dora and the V-2
Note: I am not a fan of War Museums. It was very interesting, but in a very sad way.
