The Mickey Mouse gas mask was designed for children during the war so they would not scare each other.

The hulking table upon which Malta was signed off to the British by the French is on display for the first time, in the new National War Museum at the restored fort St Elmo.

The table has been stored in different places, including the Museums’ Department and the Malta Maritime Museum, but is now a centrepiece in a section of the new museum.

“This table was used when the French surrendered to the British. Although it was the Maltese who revolted against the French, the locals were considered rebels. The armistice document was signed on this table,” curator Charles Debono explained.

Behind him, a stark white crucifix hangs behind a glass pane. It was carved from a piece of bone by a French prisoner of war.

This is not the only souvenir by prisoners of war at the new museum, housed in a fort that lived through a siege and two world wars. One particular section, which trails the events between 1943 and 1945, includes a cabinet lined with souvenirs, such as jewel boxes and handbags, which prisoners crafted out of plane Perspex, stone and wood to earn some money.

Some 2,500 German prisoners of war were brought to the island to help with the reconstruction of buildings, Mr Debono said.

The sleek museum, housed at the Upper Fort St Elmo in barracks built by the Knights and the British, trails events from as early as the Bronze Age to modern times, as Malta – and its culture – changed when powers fell and new ones rose.

The display includes what could have been the very first weapons – copper daggers. They date from a time before the first fortification wall was built in Borg in-Nadur, a wall which in itself stands testament to the fear of attacks 4,500 years ago.

The sleek museum, housed at the Upper Fort St Elmo in barracks built by the Knights and the British, trails events from as early as the Bronze Age to modern times

The museum opened its doors this year following three years of research, and work is still ongoing in some sections. The exhibited items used to be stored at the Armoury, the Inquisitor’s Palace and the Archaeology, War and Fine Arts museums.

As visitors make their way from room to room, they are greeted with sounds of battle that set the scene for tales of military action explained in pictorial placards lining the wall of the fort.

The Husky, used by Supreme Commander General Dwight Eisenhower and later by US President Franklin Roosevelt on his trip to Malta after the Second World War. Hanging above it is the pre-Independence Maltese flag.

Prominence has been given to the complex power struggle in the Mediterranean and Europe between Christians and Muslims that led to the Great Siege of Malta in 1565.

To depict this battle 450 years ago, Matteo Perez d'Aleccio’s frescos at the President’s Palace in Valletta have been brought to life on a large screen, back-to-back with another interactive screen where visitors can learn more about the Siege’s protagonists.

These are two of the several audio-visual shows at the museum. Another one shows the movement of the Great Siege across the island, starting from the landing of the Ottomans at Mġarr after they were spotted off Delimara in May of 1565.

Another important part of the museum hosts two halls dedicated to Malta’s roles in the First and Second World Wars and the period in between.

This section includes memorabilia that used to be housed at the former National War Museum, which until September of last year was located in another part of the fort.

Apart from the George Cross awarded for gallantry during World War II and the pre-Independence Maltese flag, this section hosts Faith, one of the three famous Gloster Sea Gladiators used in the defence of the island at the start of the war.

There is also Franklin Roosevelt’s Jeep, Husky, which the American president rode during his visit here.

An interesting exhibit shows two German mother crosses awarded on 1939’s Mothering Sunday. They were gifted by the German government, depending on how many children a woman brought up. A mother of six children or fewer was given a silver cross, while a woman who gave birth to eight was awarded a gold First Class Mother’s Cross.

The trip through Malta’s military past concludes with a walk along a real-life timeline that highlights events from the post-war rebuilding of Malta up to its accession to the EU.