The Fries Verzetsmuseum (Frisian Resistance Museum) in Leeuwarden is devoted to the impact of the Second World War on people in the province of Friesland. The collection presents 45,000 objects, documents, books, magazines, photographs and films, which give a global picture of the war in Friesland.

The Fries Verzetsmuseum was opened in 1979 and was the first resistance museum in the Netherlands. Over the years it expanded its collection and moved several times. In December 2019 the museum was reorganised which lead to a great new presentation which is currently on display.

In the Fries Verzetsmuseum you’ll meet the citizens of Friesland during the war years. Frisians and non-Frisians tell their stories of how they experienced the war in the countryside in Friesland. Resistance and persecution took place, but no hunger winter. However, there were refugees and people coming from far away to get milk and food.

Stories are at the heart of the Fries Verzetsmuseum. Eyewitnesses and objects with a personal story bring the war up close. These stories affect, confront and make people think. There is a focus on the difficult choices people had to make in these special times. Central are the subjects of the air war above Friesland, the resistance against the occupier and the hiding. Special attention is also paid to the spectacular robbery of the Frisian resistance on the Huis van Bewaring (prison which holds prisoners awaiting trial or sentence) in Leeuwarden.