The permanent exhibition at the Warsaw Rising Museum is housed in a former tram power station and offers an immersive experience of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. Utilizing images, light, sound, and multimedia, the exhibition guides visitors through the chronological events and thematic aspects of the uprising, creating a powerful historical narrative.
Opened on the sixtieth anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, the permanent exhibition of the Warsaw Rising Museum is situated in a historic early 20th-century industrial building on Wola. The museum's design employs striking visuals, light, and sound to recreate the reality of the uprising. Visitors navigate through themed sections presented chronologically, walking on cobblestone streets amidst the ruins of wartime Warsaw.
The exhibition's heart is a towering steel monument that spans all floors, inscribed with the uprising's timeline and emitting the sound of a beating heart, symbolizing Warsaw's spirit in 1944. The ground floor details the occupation and the outbreak of the uprising, featuring functional 1940s printing presses that still produce historical documents. A dedicated "Sala Małego Powstańca" (Little Insurgent's Room) offers an engaging historical experience for children.
The exhibition extends to the mezzanine and upper floors, covering August battles, daily life in insurgent Warsaw, and the uprising's aftermath, including the PKWN, the decisions of the Big Three, capitulation, and the evacuation of civilians. Significant elements include the "Palladium Cinema" showing AK newsreels, an atmospheric sewer reenactment, and a Place of Remembrance with insurgent graves. The "Liberator" hall prominently features a 1:1 scale replica of a Liberator B-24J airplane, alongside exhibits on Allied air drops and the German perspective on the uprising. The surrounding Park of Freedom includes the Wall of Remembrance, listing the names of fallen insurgents.