Shelter Museum

The shelter was located 1 km behind the Maginot Line and was used during the war as a barracks with 240 beds and a location for casemates. 28 rooms have been restored to their original condition; there is also an exhibition room. In addition to the bunker, there is a large collection of military material from 1939 to today, a room of models, a room dedicated to the “Malgré-Nous” (men of the Alsace-Moselle conscripted into the German army), as well as a hall containing American and German equipment from 1939 to 1945. Reconstructions recall the battle of January 1945 in Hatten. German and American fighters confronted each other in and around the village from 9 to 21 January 1045, during Operation Nordwind launched by Hitler. During this German offensive, Hatten and the neighbouring village of Rittershoffen were at the heart of one of the largest tank battles in France. Both villages were 85% destroyed; there were 83 civilian victims in Hatten, 31 in Rittershoffen. Outside, on the museum site, the Bois du Souvenir is a place of contemplation dedicated to the civilian victims of the battle. 114 trees were planted in tribute to the 114 civilian victims from the 2 villages. Since 2021, a specially dedicated room presents a part of the collection of the former JOST museum (museum of the Air Force Base 901 of DRACHENBRONN).