The National WWII Museum in New Orleans has unveiled its newest addition, the Liberation Pavilion, a three-story complex that aims to commemorate the end of the war and highlight its human costs. Spanning over 3,065.80 square meters, the pavilion features a range of exhibits that capture the horror of Nazi atrocities, the challenges faced by those who returned from battle, and the worldwide effort to seek justice, recover, and rebuild.

The pavilion opens with a grim tour, as visitors pass by a wall adorned with military dog tags representing the names of over 414,000 American soldiers who died in action. The centerpiece exhibit is a large crate used to transport the coffin of an Army private back to his family in Ohio. Just steps away is a recreation of the secret rooms where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis in Amsterdam. A dimly lit room follows, showcasing wooden bunks and life-size projected images of emaciated survivors of a Nazi concentration camp. Nearby, a simulated salt mine displays images of centuries-old paintings and crates of recovered statuary that were plundered by the Germans during the war.

Amid the bleakness of the first floor, smaller and more hope-inspiring items are showcased. One such item is a violin crafted by an American prisoner of war, Air Force 1st Lt. Clair Cline. Using scavenged wood, Cline assembled the violin as a way to combat the monotony of internment. The instrument serves as a testament to the resilience and spirit of those who endured captivity.

Moving to the second floor, the pavilion explores the challenges faced by returning veterans and the progress made in advancing civil rights and women's equality. Black veterans returned to a country still plagued by segregation and violence against people of color, while women had taken on non-traditional roles during the war. The exhibits argue that their experiences energized efforts to achieve equality, with the civil rights movement flourishing in the 1950s and the women's equality movement gaining momentum in the 1960s.

The second floor also delves into the Nuremberg war crimes trials, the emergence of the United States as a world superpower after the war, and the formation of international alliances aimed at sustaining peace and safeguarding freedom. Visitors are reminded that organizations such as NATO and the United Nations were American-led creations that originated from the war. The goal of these exhibits is to provide visitors with a lens through which they can view current events and understand the importance of these international alliances.

On the third floor, a multi-format theater offers a captivating experience with moving screens and a rotating audience platform. Through a production of images and oral histories, the theater emphasizes the theme of freedom under pressure and the triumph of American-led freedom.

The Liberation Pavilion is the final permanent exhibit at the National WWII Museum, which initially opened as the National D-Day Museum in 2000. Over the years, the museum expanded to encompass all aspects of the Second World War, becoming a major tourist attraction in New Orleans. With the opening of the Liberation Pavilion, the museum aims to keep the memory of the war alive as the generation that lived through it passes away and the Baby Boom generation, raised on its lore, reaches old age.

The pavilion's opening ceremonies were attended by surviving veterans of the war, Holocaust survivors, historians, and actor Tom Hanks, a dedicated supporter of the museum. The National WWII Museum continues to fulfill its responsibility to honor the achievements of the WWII generation and ensure that the legacy of the war is never forgotten.