The Arsenal of Democracy
The D-Day Invasion
US Merchant Marine Gallery
America Besieged
America Responds
War Affects Every Home
United but Unequal: I Am an American
Citizens to Warriors
Manufacturing Victory
A House Divided explores the debate between isolationists and interventionists that gripped America from the outbreak of World War II in Europe until the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. As Britain fought Nazi Germany alone, most Americans wanted no part of the conflict. President Franklin D. Roosevelt performed a delicate balancing act, supporting Britain through the Lend-Lease Act and beginning efforts to mobilize the nation's defenses, while officially maintaining neutrality. The gallery immerses visitors in a time of great confusion, fear, and worry as Americans urgently debated the best course of action for the nation and war drew closer. Through a special media presentation featuring the images and sounds of conflicting voices engaged in the debate, the gallery immerses visitors in the atmosphere of anxiety that defined 1940–41 in the United States—as American society passionately hoped that peace would endure, but began to acknowledge that war may be unavoidable despite all efforts.
Exhibit Highlights
The entryway to The Arsenal of Democracy features a looping video and striking "E for Excellence" banner to attract the eye and introduce the themes of manufacturing and the iconography of WWII America.
This gallery covers the historical events that preceded the outbreak of World War II, examining the mounting pressures that would engulf the world in bitter war.
The period between the outbreak of World War II in Europe and the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941 is the focus of this gallery, which explores the passionate debate between America's split factions: isolationists and interventionists.
This impactful gallery is dominated by a 50-foot-wide projection screen—a suitably vast surface on which to display the shock and chaos of Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941.
The onset of World War II unified America—a moment that is the focus of this gallery—as American media joined the US government in publishing iconic WWII propaganda.
This gallery, which immerses visitors in a 1942-style home, conveys a sense of the daily lives of American families during World War II.
While the cause of victory over the Axis powers united Americans, this gallery examines the racial supremacy championed by the Axis powers, which also refracted light on issues of national loyalty and race in America.
This experiential gallery, set in a military barracks environment, highlights the massive effort to rapidly train and mobilize millions of civilians to become the nation's troops in combat zones around the world.
As war raged, American industry poured out weapons and war material in staggering amounts, utilizing scientific and technological innovation along the way—the focus of this gallery.
The final gallery engages visitors in an immersive Los Alamos environment, detailing the massive scientific, technological, and military effort which ushered in the Atomic Age.