About the organisation
The Stichting Koninklijke Defensiemusea (Royal Defence Museums Foundation) is the over-arching organisation of the four Defence museums: the Mariniersmuseum (Netherlands Marine Corps Museum) in Rotterdam, the Nationaal Militair Museum (National Military Museum) in Soesterberg and the Marinemuseum (Navy Museum) in Den Helder.
Our mission
The mission of the three museums is to visibly give pride of place to the military and the stories of service personnel. We do so by working to rouse the greatest possible interest among the public at large in the armed forces and enabling people to experience what life in the armed forces is like, past and present, as war and conflict are inextricably part of the world we live in and consequently part of ourselves.
Our vision
The armed forces serve an important core government task. For the social legitimacy of the armed forces – as well as for the sense of motivation of the men and women that work there – it is vital that a substantial portion of society is duly aware of the reasons why a country has armed forces in place and that people are able to form an opinion for themselves about the way the armed forces perform their tasks.
Which is why the Defence museums are presenting a window on the past, present and future developments of the armed forces, in a way that is not non-committal.
We want to touch the hearts and minds of the members of the public by:
- making emotions of service personnel such as camaraderie, courage, dedication and fear palpable;
- showing that making choices is a necessity;
- showing that the mere threat of the use of arms can be instrumental in keeping the peace;
- enabling visitors to feel, smell, taste and hear what it means to work for peace and security;
- shedding light on the mutual impact of the armed forces on society from multiple angles.
We are endeavouring to deliver a ‘transformative experience’, which means that visiting one of the Defence museums may change the way members of the public think about the armed forces.
