Last week I was in Washington DC for a few days on a short break. I spent quite a bit of my time trekking around the various museums that the city has to offer.
The one museum, however, that really “left a mark” was the Holocaust Memorial Museum.
In common with a lot of the museums in DC, the Holocaust Memorial Museum is free to visit, though unlike other museums it definitely costs emotionally.
The building is a short walk from the main National Mall, which is dominated by the various parts of the Smithsonian.
On entering the building and passing through security you are ushered into a lift up to the 4th floor where the tour begins. It’s entirely self-guided and, unlike some other museums, the layout is very easy to follow. Before entering the lift you are encouraged to pick up an ID card of a Holocaust victim. The idea being that you can trace your victim’s fate – some lived, while others died.
The tour follows the rise of fascism and Hitler, through the war, the final solution and the ultimate liberation of the concentration camps by the Allies in 1945. Along the way there are some fascinating and disturbing segways into Jewish communities in Europe and how the Holocaust wiped a lot of them out. But the museum does not focus solely on the Jews, but also gives plenty of coverage to the fate of other groups that Hitler deemed unworthy to be members of the “master race”, such as gypsies, homosexuals and the mentally ill.
It’s hard to find words to describe the experience of visiting the museum. By the time you finish the tour of the permanent exhibit you will probably be mentally and emotionally drained. The museum exhibits speak for themselves.
If you are in DC then I’d highly recommend a visit, though be warned it is a gruelling experience.
We visited in 2008. I think it was something to do with the layout, but we ended up passing through security three times, and each time had to drink some of the water in our bag to prove it wasn’t dangerous. We joked with the friendly security guard that we’re lucky it wasn’t vodka. A year later, he’s the guard mentioned in the first paragraph here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/10/holocaust-museum-shooting_n_213831.html
The craziness still hasn’t left the world.
Andrew
There’s a memorial to the guard just inside the entrance. You don’t see it on your way in, but it’s hard to miss on the way out. That anyone would do something like that is truly shocking and depressing.
Michele