Main exhibition
The heart of the Museum is the main exhibition, covering an area of over 6,000 m2. m2, which makes it one of the largest exhibitions presented by historical museums in the world. It is located 14 meters underground. It is a story about the tragic experience of World War II, about its genesis and consequences, about victims and perpetrators, about heroes and ordinary people. It is supposed to be like a history lesson that we must not forget.
The main exhibition consists of three narrative blocks: "The Road to War", "The Horror of War" and "The Long Shadow of War". The exhibition presents the Polish experience of war in a broader European and global context. It was divided into 18 thematic sections, and these, if necessary, into smaller rooms devoted to specific events or issues
The main exhibition includes almost 3,000. exhibits, but there are also about 260 modern multimedia stations. Visitors can use them to view archival photographs and films, watch eyewitness accounts of those events, and get acquainted with interactive maps presenting theaters of war and changes in state borders during World War II .
The main exhibition also includes a space where exhibits depicting everyday life during World War II are presented, as well as an exhibition for children called "A Journey in Time".
The main exhibition was designed by the Belgian studio Tempora, which was selected in the international competition for the exhibition design of the Museum of the Second World War in 2009. Particularly important in this project is the departure from the concept of a board exhibition towards a diversified spatial exhibition. The attractiveness of this project is also proven by the richness of scenographic forms and the originality of the proposed exhibition solutions. The scenographic values of the project will provide visitors with the opportunity to emotionally identify with the historical context and individual human experiences during the war.
Tempora design studio based in Brussels, was founded in 1998. It specializes in the concept, implementation and promotion of cultural exhibitions. Tempora's achievements, in addition to winning the competition for the concept and implementation of the main exhibition of the Museum of the Second World War, include: scenography design at the Battle of Waterloo Memorial, the Museum of Europe in Brussels and the Ostrów Tumski History Center in Poznań. In 2007, an exhibition prepared by Tempora was presented in Brussels entitled Europe - this is our history!, about the process of creating the European Union, which was also presented in Wrocław.
