In World War II, the three great Allied powers—Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union—formed a Grand Alliance that was the key to victory. But the alliance partners did not share common political aims, and did not always agree on how the war should be fought.

As fighting came to an end in 1945, people the world over faced for the first time the unprecedented extent of destruction and loss of life caused by World War II. As the costs of victory came into devastating focus, the diplomatic responses, rising global tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, and social disruption that followed in the aftermath of this conflict showed that World War II was truly "the war that changed the world."

Spotlight on Pamela and Mark Rubin, Museum Donors

How the looming Cold War convinced Americans to keep troops in Europe after the war.

While thousands of their fellow Americans were about to enter into the Battle of the Bulge and likely face capture under harsh circumstances by the war-weary German enemy, others, already POWs, celebrated a lonely Christmas holiday, the last of the war, in camps across  Europe.