Description:                                

America’s only national memorial to the Holocaust, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum was created by a unanimous act of congress. Visiting the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum can be an extremely moving experience, regardless of race, heritage or connection to the Holocaust. It is not unusual for visitors to be emotionally overcome by the poignancy of the exhibits. Before entering, each visitor is given an “identity card,” which gives the real biographical information of a victim of the Holocaust. This lends a sense of immediacy and gives perspective not only to the staggering statistics of Nazi genocide, but also to the life of an innocent human being who was forced suffered through it. The result is that it is not unusual for visitors to become emotionally overwhelmed.




Interspersed with video documentaries, photographs, and oral histories, the numerous exhibits include a freight car used by the Nazi’s to transport Jews to the Treblinka death camp, and a Danish fisherman"s boat that carried 900 Jews to safety in Sweden. The permanent exhibits start on the fourth floor. Here visitors learn about Jewish culture in Europe during the 1930s. Visitors must obtain a free time pass to enter the permanent Holocaust exhibit. The museum then details the rise of the Nazi party and the Holocaust through exhibits like a mountain of shoes that were taken from 4,000 people who were gassed, and re-creations of creamatoriums like those used at Auschwitz. The second floor is “The Aftermath,” featuring the video testimonials of survivors. Next door, The Hall of Remembrance is provided as a place of contemplation.

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