We are proud to continue to present to you the Road to Berlin, the first floor galleries within Campaigns of Courage: European and Pacific Theaters. In last week’s post, we explored the Allies efforts and ultimate success in pushing the Axis out of North Africa. The next stop in the Mediterranean is Sicily.
Rendering of the Invasion of Sicily gallery
As you leave the desert landscape of North Africa you will enter a gallery with the look and feel of a home in Sicily. This is where the Allies delivered the first piercing blow to the so-called “soft underbelly” of Axis Europe. The gallery will cover the major events in the Allied campaign to liberate Sicily through three exhibits: Operation Husky, Taking Palermo, and Race for Messina. The Allied invasion, dubbed, Operation Husky, succeeded despite a fierce German counterattack and rivalries between American and British commanders. Putting behind them a tragic friendly fire episode and lingering doubts from the North Africa campaign, American forces proved themselves and, led by General Patton, won glory with the first liberation of a major European city, Palermo. This immersive space will employ an animated map and an array of artifacts and photographs as it tracks the storming of the strategic island.
The Invasion of Sicily gallery is an available naming opportunity. If you are interested in obtaining more details about sponsoring this gallery, please contact Ashley Nash at 504-528-1944 x348
Post by Lauren Bevis, Donor Relations Manager, and Ashley Nash, Prospect Coordinator.
We are proud to continue to present to you the Road to Berlin, the first floor galleries within Campaigns of Courage: European and Pacific Theaters. Last week we gave you an overview of the Desert War- North Africa gallery, and now we will do a deep dive into the gallery’s exhibits.
Rendering of The Desert War- North Africa gallery
OPERATION TORCH EXHIBIT
Stalin’s Soviet Union pressed the Allies to start a new front against the Germans in Western Europe at the earliest opportunity, but the Anglo-Americans did not yet have the strength to initiate a cross-channel invasion into France. Instead, the Allies decided to confront Axis forces in North Africa. Codenamed Operation TORCH, the invasion was launched in November 1942. Led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, it was the first time the British and Americans cooperated together on an invasion plan. This exhibit will highlight the experiences of the US forces and the key elements of the invasion.
KASSERINE PASS EXHIBIT
Made possible through a gift from the Ella West Freeman Foundation in honor of Richard W. Freeman
After months of moving steadily eastward from landing points in Algeria and Morocco, Allied Forces suffered a bitter setback at the Battle for Kasserine Pass. In February 1943, German General Erwin Rommel launched a major offensive that resulted in heavy casualties and forced the Allies to retreat. The attack demonstrated the Germans’ capable leadership and deadly weaponry, while exposing the weaknesses of the inexperienced American Army. This exhibit will show what the US learned from their defeat at Kasserine, including recognizing the need for better training, equipment, and organization.
ADVANCE INTO TUNISIA AND THE IMPORTANCE OF VICTORY EXHIBIT
Made possible through a gift from the Ella West Freeman Foundation in honor of Richard W. Freeman
This exhibit will cover the dramatic final stages of the campaign to push German and Italian troops out of North Africa in May 1943. Having learned from their past mistakes, the Allies began to effectively coordinate their assets. Though they coped with bad weather conditions and rough mountainous terrain, General Patton and British General Bernard Montgomery successfully closed in on German forces.
Rendering of The Desert War- North Africa gallery
Up next, the Invasion of Sicily Gallery
Post by Lauren Bevis, Donor Relations Manager, and Ashley Nash, Prospect Coordinator.
We are proud to continue to present to you the Road to Berlin, the first floor galleries within Campaigns of Courage: European and Pacific Theaters. Last week we oriented you to the war in Europe, and this week we plunge into the first stop in the war in the European-Mediterranean Theater: North Africa.
Rendering of The Desert War- North Africa gallery
The Desert War- North Africa Gallery will tell the story of how American and British troops assaulted the Axis in Africa to secure a Mediterranean stronghold before attempting an attack on Hitler’s “Fortress Europe.” After an enormous Allied effort, they eventually defeated the Germans and Italians and established an operations base for launching bombing raids in preparation for the invasion of Sicily and Italy. The North Africa narrative also gives close attention to American forces’ setbacks and hard lessons.
This immersive 1,500 square foot space will convey the landscape of Tunisia as American forces stem the Nazi tide. You will feel surrounded by desert and rocky landscape, as you see projections of tanks rolling over the sand. Macro artifacts will include a 105mm Howitzer and a 1943 Jeep. You will be able to get up close to dozens of iconic Weapons of Europe displayed in an enormous artifact case.
The gallery will feature three main exhibits: Operation Torch, Kasserine Pass, and Advance into Tunisia.
The Desert War – North Africa gallery is an available naming opportunity. If you are interested in obtaining more details about sponsoring this gallery, please contact Ashley Nash at 504-528-1944 x 348.
Rendering of The Desert War- North Africa gallery
Post by Lauren Bevis, Donor Relations Manager, and Ashley Nash, Prospect Coordinator.
Following up on last week’s blog, we are now moving into our first gallery of Road to Berlin: European Theater Galleries–the Briefing Room.
Briefing Room Rendering
The Briefing Room will take you through the big picture of the European-Mediterranean Theater of war. Upon entering this gallery you will face portraits and descriptions of the five leaders of the war in Europe: Hitler, Mussolini, Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin. A map will depict Axis territorial gains during the war’s early stages.
Rendering of the Road to Berlin Briefing Room
Set in an abandoned room in North Africa, this room will recreate the immense pressures faced by Allied strategists and cover the events and status of the war as of November 1942, including the strategic choices that the Allied war effort faced in early 1942 and the landings in North Africa later that year. You will learn the rationale behind the decision to go to “Germany first,” and be introduced to the issues faced in deciding to invade North Africa before Europe. A European/Mediterranean Theater of War digital map will provide an overview of the campaign and the exhibit will employ state-of-the-art technology.
DONOR SPOTLIGHT: Mr. and Mrs. H. Mortimer “Tim” Favrot, Jr.
Mr. H. Mortimer “Tim” Favrot, Jr. is a board member and great advocate of the Museum. He and his wife, Kay, are dedicated capital campaign donors who have supported the Road to Victory capital campaign with a significant donation to sponsor the Briefing Room.
Their interest in the project came not only from their knowledge of WWII history, but also their belief that the Museum’s expansion would be a great asset to New Orleans. Mr. Favrot’s family has deep roots in New Orleans dating back to 1715 and he has a history of remarkable service to the city. Tim Favrot was in fifth grade and attending the New Orleans Academy when the United States entered World War II. He was playing touch football on Sunday, December 7, 1941, at his grandfather’s home when one of his cousins suddenly burst out the front door and yelled, “We are at war!” Favrot learned that evening that American forces had been bombed at Pearl Harbor, he was not sure where Pearl Harbor was, or what this meant for the fate of our country.
He began to build models to track and identify military aircraft and studied maps, highlighting where American advances were being made. Eleven-year-old Tim was disappointed that he was not able to go off to war himself, but he was determined to learn all he could about America’s Arsenal of Democracy while remaining at home.
After completing two years at Jesuit High School in New Orleans, he attended Culver Military Academy in his mother’s native Indiana. His military career began at the age of 18 when he joined the Air Force ROTC at Tulane. He later spent two years in the Air Force Base in Alamogordo, New Mexico, the location where the first atomic bomb test took place. Even after he was discharged from the service, his appreciation for the contributions of our armed forces continued to grow.
Many years later, his wife Kay introduced Tim to the late David Voelker, past Museum Chairman of the Board of Trustees, who invited him to join the Museum’s board. He accepted the Trustee role in 2004, and in that same year Tim and Kay made a significant gift to the Museum to complete Discovery Hall. This included the Mr. and Mrs. H. Mortimer Favrot, Jr. Orientation center, so named to recognize their philanthropy. Tim serves on several WWII board committees and his leadership was crucial in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when he chaired the Museum’s Facilities Committee, which oversaw storm-related damage repairs. It was during this period that the Museum launched the Road to Victory capital campaign. He felt great joy at the completion of the first phase of construction in 2009.
Kay and H. Mortimer “Tim” Favrot, Jr. at the premiere of The Monuments Men film at The National WWII Museum
Tim would like to be remembered as a “loyal supporter and advocate for the city of New Orleans.” His dedication to the Museum has distinguished him as such a leader. We extend our sincere thanks to Kay and Tim Favrot. Their support of our capital campaign allows us to fulfill our mission of telling the story of the war that changed the world—why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today. We would not be where we are today on the Road to Victory without their leadership.
Up next in the Road to Berlin, The Desert War- North Africa gallery
Post by Lauren Bevis, Donor Relations Manager, and Ashley Nash, Prospect Coordinator.
Rendering of The Desert War-North Africa gallery with the Road to Berlin
We are proud to present to you the Road to Berlin, the first floor European Theater galleries within our newest pavilion, Campaigns of Courage: European and Pacific Theaters. These galleries are a major component of the Museum’s capital expansion and are essential to fulfilling the Museum’s mission to tell the story of the war that changed the world—why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today.
All design for these galleries is now complete and construction of the exhibits has begun, ensuring that we will be ready for the Road to Berlin’s Grand Opening in December of this year!
As we count down to the Grand Opening of one of the most anticipated exhibit spaces in the entire capital expansion, we want to give you a sneak peek of the galleries and spotlight the generous donors who have made the construction of these exhibits possible.
Rendering of the Battle of the Bulge gallery with the Road to Berlin
We will debut this series of blog posts with an overview of the Road to Berlin. This collection of galleries features the European-Mediterranean Theater, which spanned several years and engaged hundreds of thousands of people in the air, at sea, underwater, on the beaches, and in the mountains and the desert. Through eight galleries, Road to Berlin will present a comprehensive narrative of the fascinating stories and events in Europe, helping visitors to understand and appreciate what proceeded D-Day in June 1944—the challenges, strategies, and operations that secured the path to Normandy, as well as the bloody battles that followed. The Road to Berlin will come alive through images, oral histories, artifacts, and stunning displays that mimic the environments of the battle scenes.
Rendering of the Into the German Homeland gallery with the Road to Berlin
The Road to Berlin will focus on the American path to victory that led to the capitulation of Germany at the end of the Second World War. These galleries will paint the entire American picture in Europe, so that our visitors will understand the amount and scope of sacrifice that led to our victory over Germany in WWII.
Visitors will begin in a Briefing Room that orients them to the big picture of the war in Europe. Then visitors continue on to the first stop of the journey alongside Allied forces: The Desert War –North Africa, where the Allies struggled but ultimately defeated German and Italian forces. Next, visitors will follow the Allies into Sicily, or the so-called “soft underbelly” of Europe, where they won glory with the first liberation of a major European city, Palermo. The journey then continues through the long, bloody Italian Campaign up the peninsula.
Visitors are then transported to a Nissen hut, like those used in England during the war, to learn about air power in Europe – from the infamous German Luftwaffe to the relentless American airstrikes across Europe. This serves as the launching point for visitors to join the Allies as they invade Nazi–occupied France on the history-making D-Day at Normandy. Visitors will then travel all over France, before entering the Ardennes Forest for the historic Battle of the Bulge. Finally, visitors break through the Siegfried Line for the final push into Germany.
Up next, the first stop in Road to Berlin: The Briefing Room
Post by Lauren Bevis, Donor Relations Manager, and Ashley Nash, Prospect Coordinator.
