Pierre Rieu Proud Of His Grandmother

Pierre Rieu Proud Of His Grandmother

War museum in the making as a lesson for the future

Chapeau Magazine, Maastricht: Maastricht citizen Pierre Rieu is one of the main characters in the book 'Portraits of freedom, commissioned by the Eijsden-Margraten municipality, and edited by Chapeau.

Below is an excerpt from his story:

At the front of the biggest shed is a part of the stage attributes of his world famous father André. But behind a large wall in the same shed, is where the domain of Pierre Rieu begins, indeed, "the son of". There you enter a very different world, that of the Second World War.

Impressive tanks, jeeps, army trucks, amphibian vessels, motorcycles, reconnaissance vehicles and a lot of utensils from the period 1940-1945, such as radios, a printing press for pamphlets and lamps.

No, it's not just a hobby. It is not primarily about tinkering, having rare vehicles with which you can take a nice ride like in an old-timer.There is a definite story behind it all.

"My maternal grandmother was married to a German Jew. My grandmother was in the resistance. They never talked much about it. I can still remember that they did have many books about the war.

As a child, I often poked around. That is how my interest arose. And that's how at the age of sixteen I landed a job as a volunteer as a guide at the Fort Eben-Emael. I learned a lot there. About the war and the liberation, but also about how to deal with groups of people."

The book is for sale in the town hall of Margraten and among others in the PLUS stores of Eijsden and Margraten.

Thanks to John For The Translation