Museum of the Second World War is a museum situated on the bank of Radunia Canal which connects to the nearby Motlawa river. The officials decided to build the museum on that location because of its proximity to the historic Polish Post Office and Westerplatte Peninsula, where Gdansk was attacked for the first time in the Second World War. The design of the building was chosen throughout the international architectural competition by a jury on September the 1st in 2010. The winning proposal was made by Kwadrat Architectural Studio which is based in Gydnia, Poland. The foundation stone was set two years later.

The aim of the museum is to create a modern city center close to the Old Town. As explained by Kwadrat studio the complex was designed to represent the past, the present, and the future of the city. Underground exhibition spaces represent the past, the open spaces with the views of the Old Town on one side and shipyards on the other side represent the present, and the horizontal part of the building represents the future. Another feature is the orange facade which resembles city's pre-war architecture. The facade overlooking the Old Town consists of glass cladding so the visitors can observe city's skyline. There are approximately 5,000 square meters of permanent exhibitions, 1,000 square meters dedicated to temporary shows and the rest of 17,000 square meters of the building serve as a center of education, culture, and research. The immersive exhibitions show all the difficulties ordinary people from Poland and other parts of the World were confronted by during the war.