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The Second Exhibition Hall is located next to the First Exhibition Hall. The exposition in this room tells of the tragic events connected with the years of World War II in Tsarskoe Selo. It also covers the evacuation of the museum's treasures from the Catherine and Alexander palaces organised by the Soviet government, during which approximately 70,000 objects were rescued. The liberation of the town of Pushkin from German occupants in January of 1944 is depicted in original lithographs by the artist V. Vasiliev.
A special section is dedicated to the revival of the Catherine Palace and the Catherine Park. Here are exhibited a fragment of the plans for palace restoration, a sketch for the restoration of the painted ceiling of the Great Hall, antique ceramic tiles preserved and recreated by conservationists, and instruments used by carvers and gilders. Photographs show the master restorers who returned the Catherine Palace to its former grandeur. The author of the general plan for restoration was the architect Alexander Kedrinsky.
The façades of the building have been restored inasmuch as possible to their 18th-century appearance by the Fasadremstroy Trust. Many of the later layers, which distorted the original appearance of the monument, were eliminated in the process of restoration. In order to determine the original colour of the façade of the Catherine Palace, architects cleaned away the layers of paint, at the same time dating each layer. On the wall opposite the window are displayed examples of the palace façade's colour at various points in time. The restoration of the interiors of the Catherine Palace was undertaken starting with those rooms by Charles Cameron that had suffered the least damage (1956 - 1959).
Later, work was begun on the completely destroyed Formal Enfilade designed by Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli, and work on this wing continues to this day. Many of these interiors are depicted in watercolours commissioned in the mid-19th century of academicians Edward Hau and Luigi Premazzi. Thanks to the accuracy and careful attention to all details of the architectural and artistic finishing, they were used as documents during restoration. This hall also features materials concerning the restoration of the media used: carvings, stucco, gilding, decorated ceramic tile, decorative painting, upholstery, and inlaid floors.
