Collection
The Freedom Museum has a professional archive with more than 90,000 historical objects. As of 1 January 2025, these included about 63,000 documents, 15,000 photographs and slides, 2,500 films and audio recordings, 2,000 pieces of textiles and 10,000 objects such as furniture, radios, and military material. Much of the collection relates to the Liberation of the Netherlands, but there are also international objects and pieces from the broader history of freedom, democracy and human rights, from World War I to the present. The collection is carefully preserved and made available online by a curator and a team of volunteers.
Donate
Do you have wartime material, or objects important to the history of freedom, democracy and human rights? Don't throw it away! Museums often welcome it. Personal stories such as letters, diaries, interviews and war memories are also most welcome. You can make an appointment with a staff member by emailing collectie@vrijheidsmuseum.nl. You can also drop by anytime without an appointment during opening hours. There is always someone at reception who can accept donations. A donation form will then be completed with you. We can only accept weapons and deactivated explosives after police approval and addition to our licence, so these cannot be issued without an appointment.
Look up
Want to know what the Freedom Museum has to offer? Then you don't need to visit. Almost the entire collection of the Freedom Museum can be viewed online at www.collectiegelderland.nl and is partly reproduced at www.oorlogsbronnen.nl and www.collectienederland.nl (unfortunately, all these websites are in Dutch). Anyone can view our collection here, and other museums and heritage institutions can use the website to request collections from us to borrow for their own exhibitions. In this way, we ensure that even objects that do not go directly into the permanent exhibition can still be seen as much as possible. A small number of pieces cannot be viewed online because of privacy, copyright or because the images may be perceived as very shocking.
Request
Would you like to request an image? You can do so by sending an e-mail to collectie@vrijheidsmuseum.nl. In it, please mention the object number as listed on www.collectiegelderland.nl. We try to deal with your request within 2 weeks but during holidays or anniversaries it may take a bit longer, due to busy times.
Would you like to borrow an object for an exhibition? If so, please send an e-mail to collectie@vrijheidsmuseum.nl. In addition to the object number of the piece you wish to borrow, you will need to provide information on the exhibition conditions such as the location, temperature and humidity in the room, lighting and security measures. Please allow for a 3-month application period.
