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United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Why?. “Bring to life the brutality of the Holocaust and movingly illustrate the terrible fate of Jews in World War II Nazi Germany.” . Goals. “Document, study, and interpret the history of the Holocaust” Memorial to millions of Jews killed in Holocaust
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Why? • “Bring to life the brutality of the Holocaust and movingly illustrate the terrible fate of Jews in World War II Nazi Germany.”
Goals • “Document, study, and interpret the history of the Holocaust” • Memorial to millions of Jews killed in Holocaust • Committee on Conscience: genocide research
The beginning… • October ’78 • President Carter – Holocaust miniseries • Consults advisors
Result: • 60-member commission formed • Chairman: Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor
Controversy No need for memorial: U.S. was not involved in the Holocaust vs. “There has to be a place that generates a pulse continuously about these kind of issues [oppression].” - Mark Talisman, founding vice-chairman of museum
Plans made… • Congress approved project - 1981 • Architect chosen: James Ingo Freed • Freed witnessed Kristallnacht as young boy • Moved to United States - Studied architecture - Worked on many notable architectural projects
Freed’s vision… “The intent of the building is to be a resonator of your own imagery, of your own memory.”
Freed’s design • Visited Auschwitz and designed the museum with institutional concrete – glass, steel, stark, gray – like a concentration camp • Hexagon shape – like the Jewish star
Outside vs. Inside • Exterior: clean lines, like nearby buildings • Interior: sometimes “claustrophobic,” sometimes “soaringly majestic” to elicit emotional response
Upon entering… • Each visitor receives a different card – each card shows a different Jewish person involved in the Holocaust
Four Floors Trace history of Holocaust 4th floor – beginning :1933-1940 Early years of Nazi rule Exclusion of Jews from society and buildup to World War II
Third Floor • “Final Solution” • 1940 – 1945 • Concentration camps, killing centers, ghettos, transport boxcar
Second Floor • Hall of Remembrance Post-war years: resistance, rescue, liberation
First Floor • Hall of Witness: Testimony of Holocaust survivors
A reminder of WHY “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.” - President Ronald Reagan: Remarks at the site of the future United States Holocaust Museum, October 5, 1988