returned to Compiègne in late October 1927. It was housed in a specially created museum building as part of the "Glade of the Armistice" historic monument, with the car a few meters from the exact site of the signing ceremony. The official opening of the carriage shelter was set on 11 November 1927 to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the Armistice agreement, and the fifth year of the memorial. During World War II, Hitler ordered that the wagon be dragged out of the shelter and moved to exactly the same location for the signing of the second "armistice at Compiègne", on 22 June 1940; this time with Germany victorious. The carriage was moved out of its protective building and returned to the signing-place, which was several metres away and had been marked out as part of the monument. Subsequently, the wagon was taken to Berlin and displayed from 5 July, first next to the Brandenburg gates, later on the 'Museum island'. In 1944 the wagon was sent to Thuringia, in central Germany. Then it moved to Ruhla and later Gotha Crawinkel, near a huge tunnel system. There it was destroyed in March 1945 by the SS with fire and/or dynamite, in the face of the advancing U.S. Army. However, some SS veterans and civilian eyewitnesses claim that the wagon had been destroyed by air attack near Ohrdruf while still in Thuringia in April 1944. Even so, it is generally believed the wagon was destroyed in 1945 by the SS. Today people who come to the Crawinkel commune have a chance to visit the exact site, wherein in 1945 the famous carriage burned out with a small memorial sign. Replica Today's historical wagon is an exact copy of the original one. In 1950, French manufacturer Wagons-Lits, the company that ran the Orient Express, donated a car from the same series to the museum—2439D is identical to its ravaged twin, from its polished wooden finishes to its studded, leather-bound chairs. The 2439 D was among those 37 carriages created by two series in 1913–1914. This car had also been part of Foch's private train during the 1918 signing. The opening ceremony took place on 11 November 1950 and the car was renumbered No. 2419D. It is parked beside the display of the original car's remains: a few fragments of bronze decoration and two access ramps. See also Iron diplomacy Notes World War