United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

We went here when we were on the Washington DC trip. The museum was very serious and had all sorts of things. It had newspaper articles involving the Holocaust. It had movies, and signs to read. It even had a boxcar from the Holocaust, that you had to walk through to get to the next part of the museum. Here is the link to the website. http://www.ushmm.org/ The website has information about the Holocaust and the museum. It shows the museum exhibitions and talks about the Holocaust. more

This museum is a very effective memorial to the Holocaust and its victims. It does the work of a quarter's worth of historical classes on the event (if you can call it that). The subject matter is very sobering, but it is well worth the visit. There are many quotes as you move throughout the installations, but this one summarizes part of what the architects and many people behind the museum have set as its purpose. “We who did not go their way owe them this. We must make sure that their deaths have posthumous meaning. We must make sure that from now until the end of days all humankind stares this evil in the face...and only then can we be sure it will never arise again.” (Reagan) The removal of human dignity and rights is documented here. When you enter, you are given a card with a photo or even just a name of a person who actually went through the concentration camps. It contains some of their statistics, and you take it through the exhibits. The reality that this person existed and had to live in these times/conditions is driven home by the cards. The exhibits take you through different aspects of the camps. They have one that shows you the living conditions, and another of the tattoos and different insignia’s for those who were imprisoned there- gypsies, political prisoners,homosexuals, jews, the mentally retarded. Pay close attention to the architecture, even the elevator and changes in flooring... almost everything represents something tied to the Holocaust. There is a particularly moving display of a hall, filled with photos of families and people before they were sent to the camps. There is another one of just piles and piles of shoes of humans who were killed in the camps, which devastatingly humanizes this particular exhibit. So much information and so many artifacts are contained here; the website also has a lot of useful info about both the exhibits and the Holocaust itself. http://www.ushmm.org/ While it is full of sad and moving exhibits, it is a museum that makes its point vividly. more

If there is one museum in Washington that you should visit, this is it. The HMM is one of the finest museums I have ever visited, both in content and interpretation. Admission to the permanent and traveling exhibitions is free of charge, but if you want to visit the permanent three-floor main exhibit (which you WANT to do), you need to get a ticket with a time indicating entry. You can get these for free the day of, or order ahead of time for a small service fee. This place packs in the visitors, so unless you're visiting in the off-peak season or arrive very very early, there is a strong likelihood your admission time will be in the late afternoon, if at all. The museum is sympathetic to families with small children, and many of the videos and displays with graphic or violent images are either behind a tall panel or inside a box (where you have to be tall enough to look down into). For as crowded as the museum gets on an average weekday, the timed admission tickets keep a steady flow of movement of visitors. I've been to this museum several times in the past few years, and I notice something new each time. The HMM also has temporary exhibits galleries, so new shows are always being rotated through. For a topic so intense as the Holocaust, the HMM approaches it in many different ways, none of which I would label as over-the-top or insensitive. It's important to note that the museum not only memorializes those who died but also celebrates the survivors and forces of support during WWII. I commend this amazing museum and encourage everyone to visit at some point. more