More than 450 million children—over one in six globally—are now living in areas affected by conflict. A major new exhibition at IWM London will explore what war looks like through their eyes.
Opening on 31st July 2026, Childhood in War is the first UK exhibition dedicated to exploring how conflict affects and shapes young lives, bringing together stories from the First World War to the present day.
The free exhibition moves beyond battlefields to focus on the everyday realities of childhood: play, school, family, health, home and safety. Personal testimonies of danger, hope and perseverance will sit alongside more than a century of objects, photographs, letters, drawings and contemporary accounts.
Designed for both families and adult visitors, Childhood in War will include immersive historic environments and hands-on experiences, from a large-scale Second World War evacuee train carriage to recreations of wartime games.
At the centre of the exhibition is the question of how children attempt to remain children when the structures of everyday life are transformed by conflict.
Visitors will enter a recreated Second World War bedroom to explore the importance of play during wartime. Among the objects on display is a teddy bear still treasured by Holocaust survivor John Hajdu, given to him by his parents when he was three and kept with him throughout the Holocaust.
The exhibition also confronts the darker side of play and youth culture, examining the indoctrination of children through organisations including the Hitler Youth and the Soviet Union’s Komsomol movement.
A Second World War train carriage will introduce the experiences of evacuees through letters sent home and newly recorded testimony. Objects carried by children on the Kindertransport include a red knitted jumper belonging to Jochewet Heidenstein, given to her by her parents shortly before she and her sisters left for the UK.
Elsewhere, a recreated Cold War-era living room and kitchen will explore how conflict affects children’s homes and health, with oral histories playing through a rotary telephone and a period television showing a public information film.
Education is another central theme. A recreated Second World War classroom will sit alongside posters and comics from Northern Ireland, Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia warning children about the dangers of explosives and landmines.
Much-loved children’s books set during wartime will also run through the exhibition, with a literary trail introducing fictional experiences of conflict through writers including Jacqueline Wilson and Deborah Ellis.
Historical stories are placed alongside the experiences of children living through conflict today, with material from Afghanistan, Ukraine and Sudan contributed by organisations including UNICEF, Right to Learn Afghanistan and War Child.
A UNICEF photograph shows nine-year-olds Alina and Artem in an underground car park used as a bomb shelter in Ukraine, while a poem by a 15-year-old girl recalls the Taliban taking control of Kabul on 15th August 2021:
“I witnessed how that day darkened not only Kabul’s sky, but also the dreams and hopes of so many.”
The exhibition concludes with children describing conflict in their own words and images. Drawings by three children from Sudan show their homes being attacked; collected by the NGO Waging Peace, they were later used as evidence of war crimes at the International Criminal Court.
Poems written by young people in Ukraine for UNICEF’s Poems for Peace initiative include one child’s longing for a life without war:
“Peace, it’s not just words to me. It’s when no sirens sound and I’m free…where normal childhood we can live through.”
“Children’s voices and experiences of conflict matter,”
said Craig Murray, Lead Curator of Childhood in War.
“Their stories offer us a unique perspective on the impact of war.”
“By providing a hands-on exploration of childhood through conflict, Childhood in War offers a space for families to reflect, learn and discuss difficult topics together in a world increasingly torn apart by conflict.”
Anne-Claire Dufay, UNICEF Representative to Ukraine, said:
“In Ukraine, the war has devastated childhood. The physical and mental toll is immense and exacerbated by disrupted education, loss of family and friends, and young lives that have moved underground to stay safe.
“The experiences and stories shared by children, young people and families reveal the horrific reality of war, but also the hope that pervades, reminding us all why protecting childhood must be prioritized.”
A programme of events and activities will accompany the exhibition, including a family story festival during the October half term.
Childhood in War, 31st July 2026–28th February 2027, IWM London
Free admission. Recommended for all ages, including families and children aged eight and over.
