The town famous for once being home to a classic automobile manufacturer also has other types of vehicle collections, including those that focus on World War II history.
By Pamela Selbert
March 2006
Auburn, Indiana, is billed as the “Home of the Classics,” and indeed it is. The town is perhaps best known for being the site of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival, held each year over Labor Day weekend. It is also home to a museum full of these vintage automobiles, as they once were produced here.
But Auburn is not all about cars, as you’ll find when you visit. Numerous other museums share the stage.
My husband and I have toured the World War II Victory Museum a few times already. It opened to the public in 2003. At that time, many galleries and exhibits were still in the planning stages, and it has continued to evolve ever since. Today’s visitors will find a complete history of World War II on all fronts, with displays and exhibits of many vehicles.
A young Belgian named Guy Orend started the collection soon after the war ended. Wanting to show his appreciation for the Allied efforts in the Battle of the Bulge, the teenager began rounding up abandoned vehicles from both sides after the fighting was over.
For more than 30 years, Orend collected and restored vehicles not only from the Ardennes Forest but elsewhere in Europe, North Africa, even the Pacific Theater, and in 1981 opened a Victory Memorial Museum in Messancy, Belgium. It was located approximately 30 miles from Bastogne, near areas where some of the heaviest fighting had taken place.
Many of the vehicles you’ll see at this museum are rare; some are the only known surviving examples. Among these are the 1938 Polish-built Polski ammunition trailer; a German Hanomag half-track, one of only 230 produced and the only “A” model still around; and a prototype 1940 American amphibious Humber “Hexonaut GS,” which never went into production. The odd Humber, with two 14-horsepower engines to propel its six wheels, had levers for steering and tires to serve as paddles for crossing water.
The museum also contains a prosaic-looking 1944 Dodge WC57 painted in Army camouflage. But looks can be deceiving; it flies a red flag blazoned with three white stars, and a placard notes that this was the armored command car used by General George Patton during the Battle of the Bulge.
Within 20 years of opening his museum, Orend was obliged to sell it. Auburn antique car dealer and collector Dean Kruse purchased it in 1998, and a year later established the Dean V. Kruse Foundation, Inc., with the mission to “celebrate America’s heritage by providing the public with an entertaining, educational experience focused on the preservation, exhibition and interpretation of historic treasures.” We were told that it cost $35 million to buy the collection and have it shipped to the United States.
Kruse built a 250,000-square-foot structure in Auburn to accommodate not only the World War II Victory Museum, but also the Kruse Automotive and Carriage Museum; the Philo T. Farnsworth Television History Center; and the Northeast Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame and History Center. A museum of U.S. military history since World War II and an agriculture museum are in the works also.
The museum exhibits more than 150 vehicles, approximately one-third of which are American. Slightly more are German, and the rest represent 10 other nations involved in the war, such as Great Britain, Belgium, Poland, France, Italy, Denmark, and Czechoslovakia.
The museum’s galleries are divided chronologically, with names such as “The Gathering Storm”; “Axis High Tide, 1939-1942”; and “Total War: The Home Fronts, 1939-1945.” You’ll see firearms, works of art, uniforms, and many other artifacts.
An Oral History Project, begun three years ago, is proceeding, said Kelly Bergman, marketing director for the museum. Thus far he and others have conducted nearly 300 interviews with World War II veterans, video-recording their wartime experiences. The plan is to “capture as much (as possible) of the history of the world’s largest war in the words of those who fought and lived through this dramatic time period,” he said. Eventually the interviews will be used in short documentary features appearing throughout the museum.
But visitors need not wait until the videos are completed to hear World War II veterans talk about their experiences. Many of the docents at the Victory Museum served overseas during that war and can provide insight into the displays and vehicles.
The World War II Victory Museum is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors ages 55 and over, $6 for children ages 7 to 12, and free for children under 7. World War II veterans with ID are admitted free; active military and veterans from other wars are admitted for $4. For more information, call (260) 927-9144 or visit www.wwiivictory.org.
Even if motorhomers come to Auburn only to visit the World War II Victory Museum, it’ll be time well spent. But this little town of 12,000 has four other museums, and I highly recommend them all.
The Kruse Automotive and Carriage Museum occupies another enormous wing in the facility that also houses the World War II Victory Museum. The aforementioned Dean Kruse, of Kruse Collector Cars International, founded the museum in 1999. (Annual auctions, at which some 9,000 historic automobiles are offered, take place at a huge facility across Interstate 69.)
The museum displays hundreds of vehicles, among them a host of gorgeous Duesenbergs and Rolls-Royces, as well as race cars, custom hot rods, and the renowned Batmobile. You can also see Howard Hughes’ “Silver Ghost,” and amazing custom cars built by legendary designer Carl Casper.
Several carriages are of particular interest: the ornately carved hearse that took President William McKinley to his final resting place; a ceremonial coach that belonged to King George V of England; and a two-passenger carriage that President Ulysses S. Grant purchased in 1870.
The Kruse Automotive and Carriage Museum is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors 55 and over, $6 for children ages 7 to 12; and free for children 6 and under. World War II veterans (with ID) are admitted free, and other veterans and active military are admitted for $4. For more information, call (260) 927-9144 or visit www.kccmuseum.org.
While in Auburn, you must be sure to see the fine automobiles that once were produced there. Auburns, Cords, and Duesenbergs, vehicles of “style, elegance, and untamed speed,” as they’re described in literature, can be admired at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum.
The museum occupies the 80,000-square-foot Art Deco building that was once the factory showroom for the Auburn Automobile Company. The original company had been purchased from its founders, Morris and Frank Eckhart, by a group of Chicago financiers in 1911, but it did not fare well until 1924, when Errett Lobban Cord was brought on board to revitalize it. By the early 1930s Cord controlled more than 60 corporations: auto-body manufacturers, taxi companies, an airline, gold mines, broadcasting stations, and more. But as the Depression wore on, fewer folks had money for luxury cars, and in 1937 Auburn Automobile closed its doors for good.
The sumptuous building opened as a museum in 1974 and four years later was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Now more than 100 of the magnificent autos are displayed there on two floors.
The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for students, and free for children 6 and under. For more information, call (260) 925-1444 or visit www.acdmuseum.org.
Directly behind the Auburn museum, filling two other Auburn Automobile buildings that once housed the company’s service and experimental department, is the National Automotive and Truck Museum of the United States (NATMUS). Founded by local attorney and historian John Martin Smith, NATMUS opened in 1994.
Hundreds of vehicles are on display here, including Cords of the 1930s and garish Cadillacs and Chryslers of the 1950s. In all, approximately 75 cars are included, mostly from the 1940s through 1970s.
The truck collection ranges from 1909 to the present, and features an amazing variety. One of them is the Endeavor, which held the land speed record of 226 miles per hour for a diesel-powered truck from 1992 through 2000.
In addition, a huge and fanciful collection of automobile-related toys and toy vehicles of all sizes will send you back to your childhood.
The NATMUS is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $7 for adults, $4 for children ages 6 to 12, and free for children 5 and under. Call (260) 925-9100 or visit www.natmus.org for more information.
Auburn’s Hoosier Air Museum, located at the DeKalb County Airport, is also worth a visit. Among the dozen or so aircraft on display at the museum, which opened in 1998, are a Fokker biplane, a J-3 Piper Cub, a 34-foot Beech C-45 Expeditor, and a 30-foot 1935 Speedbird.
Also in the mix is an odd craft called the Loving-Wayne WR-3, an experimental plane built in 1962 by enterprising and innovative Neal Loving of Detroit. Loving was an African-American who, back in the 1930s, was told there were no aviator opportunities for people of his race. Nonetheless, Loving took flying lessons, soloed in 1938, and became the first black instructor at Aero Mechanics High School. In 1944 he crashed his plane and lost the use of both of his legs. Undaunted, he was soon outfitted with prostheses, and in 1945 he formed the Wayne School of Aero Training for black veterans. Six years later he became the first black double-amputee to qualify as a racing pilot. The WR-3 displayed at the museum understandably lacks the legroom typical of most cockpits. A quote from Loving appears on a placard: “Do not let race, disability, or lack of money discourage you.” He lived to the age of 82.
The museum also has a rare set of photos taken from the air documenting the aftermath of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. A collection of memorabilia from the 434th Fighter Squadron of World War II is on hand also.
The museum is open for the 2006 season from March 16 through December 14, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults and $4 for children ages 6 to 18. Children under 6 are admitted free. For more information, call (260) 927-0443 or visit www.hoosierairmuseum.org.
The other smaller museums in town are also worth a look to those interested in television history and Indiana baseball greats. After all this, should you still not be “museumed out,” there are a couple more possibilities not far from Auburn. The Railroad History Museum, run by the Garrett Historical Society, is located in Garrett, 5 miles southwest of Auburn off Interstate 69. The unusual Mid-American Windmill Museum is in Kendallville, 13 miles northwest of Auburn on U.S. 6.
Whichever museums you choose to visit, enjoy your tour of the past!
Further Info
The DeKalb County Visitors Bureau can provide information about all of the attractions mentioned here and more. Campground listings also are available from the bureau.
DeKalb County Visitors Bureau
204 N. Jackson St.
Auburn, IN 46706
(877) 833-3282
(260) 927-1499
www.dekalbcvb.org
Museum Displays Rare Hitler Portrait
During our third visit to the World War II Victory Museum, we spent time with Kelly Bergman, marketing director of this first-rate museum. He talked enthusiastically about one of the newest items (then) on display: a huge framed oil portrait of Adolf Hitler.
Mr. Bergman said the work was painted in 1938 by Heinrich Knirr, one of the most influential artists in Germany during the years of the Third Reich. Mr. Bergman said the portrait was a “propaganda piece intended to convey the strength and resolve of the German dictator.”
The portrait had just been restored by noted art conservator Barry Bauman, who, Mr. Bergman said, had “devoted more than two months to removing 60 years of dirt and grime.”
The portrait was unveiled at the museum during a ceremony this past November. It depicts a scowling fuehrer (with an Iron Cross medal for bravery from World War I hanging around his neck), right hand on hip, left hand clenched, in a pastoral setting. He’s shown four inches taller than in real life and is dressed in a mustard-colored Nazi party uniform, with a gray coat draped across his shoulders.
It’s believed to be the only Knirr portrait of Hitler on display in the world. It was found in the spring of 1945, when one of the first American soldiers to enter Munich, Germany, encountered two Czechoslovakian men running down the street carrying a large object. It turned out to be the Hitler portrait, which the soldier then took from its frame, rolled up, and brought back to the United States.
The portrait now hangs in the “Rising Tyrants” exhibit in the museum’s Gathering Storm gallery. Notwithstanding the atrocities its subject committed, the portrait is a treasure, Mr. Bergman said. But he is quick to point out that displaying it is in no way an attempt to honor or glorify the German dictator. The exhibit also includes photos and stories of the rise to power of the two other “most despised world leaders of our time,” Italy’s Benito Mussolini and Russia’s Josef Stalin.