The Afsluitdijk was build between 1927 en 1932 and was opened to road traffic in September 1933. At the insistence of the Ministery of War fortifications were build on both sides, on Kornwerderzand and at Den Oever, to protect the country. In total seventeen casemates were build on Kornwerderzand with different functions. During the German invasion in May 1940, 225 Dutch soldiers succeeded to stall the German Blitzkrieg at Kornwerderzand. However, after the bombings on Rotterdam the Dutch Army surrendered and the German Army occupied the casemates. For a long time the German Army had little interest in the fortifications. It was not until 1943, after the Germany Army suffered defeats the casemates were fully staffed. Kornwerderzand became part of the Atlantic Wall.

In the Kazemattenmuseum different stories and expositions can be seen in the seven bunkers which are still open for public. The subjects that are discussed are, amongst others, the building of the Afsluitdijk, the Second World War and the Cold War. The goal of these expositions is to propagate and keep alive the historical events around Kornwerderzand.