Museum 1940 Operation Dynamo

This museum offers a gripping account of Dunkirk during World War II — a city devastated by bombings, with 90% of its buildings destroyed. It focuses on one of the war’s most well-known episodes: the Battle of Dunkirk and Operation Dynamo, which rescued some 340,000 Allied soldiers from certain death or capture. It all began on May 10, 1940, when Germany invaded the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium, who surrendered within days. The German army pushed into northern France, occupying Boulogne-sur-Mer and Calais, then closing in on Dunkirk — the last French city before the Belgian border. With Belgium lost, Allied troops were cornered on the beaches of Dunkirk. That’s when Operation Dynamo was launched — one of the largest evacuations in military history. Over 1,400 British boats, both naval and civilian, raced across the Channel to rescue the stranded soldiers. It was a turning point in the war, and today, you can walk through the very district where these dramatic events unfolded. The museum brings it all to life — a powerful and moving tribute to courage, resilience, and survival.