Museum of the Second World War

The Museum of the Second World War stands at Plac Wladyslawa Bartoszewskiego 1 in the Old Town of Gdansk, Poland, near the Radunia canal and the former city fortifications. It opened on 23 March 2017 and was established to present the war as an experience of societies across Europe and the world, not only of Poland. Gdansk was chosen as the site because the war began in 1939 at nearby Westerplatte and the Polish Post Office. The building, designed by Kwadrat architects, combines a tall slanted tower with a large underground exhibition space, and the form is meant to suggest a fallen block rising from the ground. The permanent exhibition is spread across about 5,000 square metres underground and is organised chronologically in three main parts: the road to war, the years of war and the war's aftermath. Visitors walk through reconstructed streets, interiors of homes and shelters, and a large collection of original objects, including uniforms, weapons, personal belongings, documents, films and vehicles such as a Sherman tank and other military equipment. The curatorial approach is immersive, using scenography and sound to place visitors within scenes of the period, while remaining focused on civilian experience, occupation, the Holocaust, and the displacement of populations. The exhibition is large and demanding, and it can take several hours. The museum also has temporary exhibitions, educational programmes, a library and a cafe. The building and the exhibition are modern, so questions of restoration do not apply, but the museum maintains conservation work on its collection of tens of thousands of objects. It is a major cultural institution and one of the principal stops on a historical visit to Gdansk.