History Frozen in Time
Tucked into the serene Belgian Ardennes village of La Gleize, the December 44 Museum invites visitors to walk into history. At its entrance stands King Tiger #213—a 69-ton behemoth, abandoned in 1944, that now silently preserves the echoes of war at the actual site where it halted.
From Battlefield to Bottle of Cognac
King Tiger #213 was disabled during the desperate close of the Battle of the Bulge, around Werimont Farm—its gun barrel shattered, its fate sealed. After the German retreat, as Allied forces cleared the battlefield, the tank’s preservation began—surprisingly, not through wartime valor, but a civilian’s resourcefulness. Madame Jenny Geenen‑Dewez, the local innkeeper’s wife, obtained it from American troops in July 1945—trading a bottle of cognac for the King Tiger, thus saving it from destruction.
The Museum and the Tank in Context
Established in 1989 by history enthusiasts Philippe Gillain and Gérard Grégoire, the December 44 Museum was built right beside the old presbytery that had served as a Waffen‑SS aid station during the battle. As decades passed, it grew—not just in space but in significance. A major renovation in 2013 doubled its exhibition area, merging war heritage with architectural authenticity.
The King Tiger tank, placed prominently at the museum entrance, serves as a powerful portal into the museum’s deeper story. Inside, you’ll discover over 5,000 battlefield artifacts—uniforms, weapons, personal effects—many recovered locally, all arranged in chronologically and thematically organized displays to bring the events of December 1944 vividly alive.
Meet King Tiger #213
The tank you see is no replica. Known as Königstiger or Tiger II, this Sd.Kfz. 182 heavy tank was one of the fiercest weapons fielded by Nazi Germany—armed with an 8.8 cm KwK 43 gun and up to 100 mm of frontal armor, weighing nearly 70 tonnes.
Specifically, tank #213, built in October 1944 (chassis serial 280273), was a platoon command vehicle used by SS-Obersturmführer Helmut Dollinger around La Gleize. In its final moments, it exchanged fire with advancing US armored units before being abandoned when German forces withdrew.
While cosmetically restored—complete with a patched Panther gun barrel and muzzle brake—much of its original internals remain damaged or incomplete. Nonetheless, it is a rare survivor: the only King Tiger to remain on the battlefield since 1945.
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