A new exhibit, “Manufacturing Victory: The Arsenal of Democracy,” highlighting contributions made on the American Home Front during World War II, opens Feb. 2, at the Mercer Museum in Doylestown.
Produced by The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, “Manufacturing Victory: The Arsenal of Democracy” is an immersive exhibit that follows the industrial journey that took the United States from a nation perilously unprepared for war to a global superpower that led the Allies to victory in World War II.
This national touring exhibit is made possible by presenting sponsor HP, with additional support provided by Citi and Motorola Solutions, and will be at the Mercer Museum’s Martin & Warwick Foundation Galleries until Sunday, May 5.
“Manufacturing Victory” includes artifacts, photographs, oral histories and interactive multimedia components that immerse guests in the story of America’s industrial war engine. These stories tell of the Home Front’s efforts to produce tanks, planes, ships and guns with “staggering speed and unparalleled energy.”
“With the 75th anniversary of D-Day rapidly approaching, and more World War II veterans being lost each day, this exhibit encourages us to remember the contributions and sacrifices of America’s ‘Greatest Generation,’ including those from Bucks County who helped us win the war,” said Mercer Museum Vice President of Collections and Interpretation Cory Amsler.
Accompanying the Manufacturing Victory exhibit, the Mercer Museum will feature a sampling of its WWII-era collections, most of which have never been exhibited. These collections showcase notable Bucks County industries during the war, military service personnel and life on the Home Front.
The accompanying local artifacts include uniforms, dog tags, a captured Japanese rifle, ration books, posters and WWII-era images of Doylestown by local photographer Milton Rutherford of Rutherford’s Camera Shop.
The new exhibit will be enhanced with a three-month long calendar of Mercer Museum community programs highlighting various aspects of the World War II Home Front experience, including Meet the Curator tours, lectures and multimedia presentations, and a documentary film premiere on the role of African-American women in the war effort.
These programs pay tribute to all types of World War II heroes, each with their own tales of triumph and hardship,” said Mercer Museum Vice President of Community Services & Marketing Marjan Shirzad.
Members of the Bucks County Historical Society will be the first to see the new exhibit during the members-only preview party on Friday, Feb. 1.
