Madurodam is named after George Maduro, a Dutch law student and a hero of the 1940 Battle of the Netherlands. After Maduro's death in a Nazi concentration camp, his parents donated initial funds for a miniature city as a memorial to their son. Madurodam was opened in the Hague in 1952 as a home to dozens of 1:25 scale models of famous Dutch historical cities, landmarks, and various sites. The park served as the inspiration for Disneyland's Storybook Land.