Following the Nazi invasion of Russia in June 1941, the museum collection of memorabilia and the library were transferred to the small town of Votkinsk, Tchaikovsky's birthplace, in Udmurtia. The house was occupied by the Germans during the Battle of Moscow in 1941–42. They used the first floor as a garage for motorcycles and the upper floor as a barracks. At the end of 1944, the exhibits were returned, and the museum opened again on May 6, 1945, on the eve of Tchaikovsky's birthday.