United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Opens on the National Mall in DC

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' living memorial to The Holocaust.

Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM is dedicated to help leaders and citizens of the world to confront hatred, prevent genocide, promote human dignity, and strengthen democracy.

In 1980, the U.S. Congress authorized the creation of the Museum based on the 1979 report of the President's Commission of the Holocaust established by Jimmy Carter. With the support of Miles Lerman, the Museum raised approximately $190 million dollars for the construction of the Museum and acquisition of artifacts. The Museum building was designed by James Ingo Freed (a Jewish survivor of Nazi Germany), of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. Additionally, Maurice N. Finegold of Finegold Alexander + Associates Inc was a consulting architect on the project. Though the outside of the building is monumental with clean lines, in keeping with the large governmental buildings in the immediate context, the interior was meant to provoke more intimate and visceral responses.

Since its dedication in 1993, the Museum has welcomed nearly 30 million visitors, including more than 8 million school children and 85 heads of state. Today 90 percent of the Museum’s visitors are not Jewish, and their website, the world’s leading online authority on the Holocaust, received 15 million visits in 2006 from an average of 100 different countries daily.

Since its dedication in 1993, the Museum has welcomed nearly 30 million visitors, including more than 8 million school children and 85 heads of state. Today 90 percent of the Museum’s visitors are not Jewish, and our Web site, the world’s leading online authority on the Holocaust, had 25 million visits in 2008 from an average of 100 different countries daily. With hundreds of thousands of online visitors from countries with majority Muslim populations, translating our Web site into Arabic and Farsi is a top priority; already, portions are available in more than 20 languages. For more information, please visit www.ushmm.org.