Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States, is devoted to teaching the history of the Holocaust—the mass murder of Jews and other groups by the Nazis from 1933 to 1945. The museum, which is in Washington, D.C., features films, photographs, eyewitness accounts, and various objects from the time. Its facilities include a library and an interactive learning center.
The museum’s permanent exhibition is arranged to follow the history of the Holocaust. It begins with the rise of Nazism during the 1930’s and concludes with the Allied liberation of concentration camps (camps for prisoners) at the end of World War II. The objects on display include a train car used to take Jews to concentration camps.
In 1980, Congress established the United States Holocaust Memorial Council to oversee the construction of a museum honoring the victims of the Holocaust. Funds for constructing the museum came entirely from private donations. The museum opened in 1993.
See also Holocaust .
