In 2000, a modest initiative to preserve the memory of the Allied D-Day invasion of Normandy evolved into what is now the National World War II Museum, a major cultural institution located in downtown New Orleans. The museum originated from a collaboration between historian Stephen E. Ambrose and Gordon H. “Nick” Mueller, then vice chancellor of the University of New Orleans. Ambrose, who passed away in 2002, sought a home for hundreds of oral history interviews he had conducted with American veterans for his book on D-Day. Mueller agreed to support the project, which over a decade grew from a small museum dedicated to D-Day to a sprawling seven-building complex with a national scope on World War II.

The National World War II Museum opened on June 6, 2000, on the site of a former warehouse. It drew 200,000 visitors during its inaugural ceremonies, including many veterans who took part in the invasion. Four years later, the U.S. Congress expanded the museum’s mission, rebranding it as the National World War II Museum and providing federal funding to accelerate the acquisition of land and construction of new facilities. Today, the museum attracts over 600,000 visitors annually and is recognized as one of the top museums in the United States, drawing praise for its comprehensive and immersive approach to wartime history.

The museum functions not only as a traditional history museum but also as an archive, research center, multimedia production facility, and experimental exhibit space. Its campus includes three restaurants, an auditorium, multiple cinemas, a non-denominational chapel, and even a nightclub. Exhibits range from large-scale displays of American military equipment to intimate oral histories recorded from more than 12,000 American soldiers, home-front workers, and Holocaust survivors. Visitors can engage with interactive experiences such as a simulated submarine battle aboard a replica of the U.S.S. Tang or explore a detailed recreation of the secret annex where Anne Frank and her family hid during the Nazi occupation.

Central to the museum’s narrative is an exploration of the American experience from December 1942 to August 1945. It features immersive galleries that place visitors in pivotal moments of the conflict, such as the prewar “Arsenal of Democracy” pavilion, the Pacific theater’s “Road to Tokyo,” and the European campaign’s “Road to Berlin,” which includes a sensory-rich Battle of the Bulge exhibit showing icy terrain, sounds of gunfire, and archival footage. Patrick Gallagher, whose firm designed the majority of the exhibits, notes that these immersive environments enhance visitors’ engagement and learning.

The museum has amassed a significant collection of over 300,000 artifacts, largely donated by the public. Items include personal effects like a parachute fabric wedding gown, artworks by Japanese American internees, prisoner of war diaries, Nazi flags, and the flight log of the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Kimberly Guise, director of Curatorial Services, estimates the museum receives about 300 donation offers monthly, often from families cleaning out personal archives.

Facing the challenge of dwindling numbers of surviving World War II veterans—currently estimated at about 30,000—the museum actively seeks to engage younger generations. It emphasizes the youth of many wartime participants, highlighting figures such as President George H.W. Bush, who served as a 19-year-old lieutenant. The museum offers extensive educational outreach, including free lesson plans for K-12 teachers, virtual courses, webinars, and portable “footlockers” containing artifacts and teaching materials for classrooms unable to visit in person. In-person tours attracted nearly 19,000 schoolchildren last year.

Visitors range widely in age, with many young people expressing a personal interest in the war. On a recent visit, several teenagers and young adults were observed touring the exhibits, often accompanied by family members. For some, such as 15-year-old Henry Schofield from Rye Brook, New York, the museum offers profound lessons about freedom and the human costs of war, particularly through exhibits like the Liberation Pavilion, which focuses on the liberation of concentration camps.

Mueller, now president and CEO emeritus of the museum, reflects on the institution’s growth with pride. “Steve Ambrose and I helped develop a museum that remembers the dead, honors their courage and tells their story to future generations,” he said. “The rest is up to those generations to understand. The museum now is way more than anything we could have imagined.”