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United States Holocaust Memorial MuseumIn 1980, Congress voted unanimously to create the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The museum is the United States’s national institution for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history and serves as the national memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. The museum’s primary mission is to advance and disseminate knowledge about the Holocaust, to preserve the memory of those who suffered, and to encourage visitors to reflect upon the moral and spiritual questions raised by the events of the Holocaust as well as their own responsibilities as citizens of a democracy. Everything about the museum is powerful; even the architecture was intentionally designed to give visitors a sense of life under the Nazis. The stark brick and limestone exterior is supposed to remind people of a German factory. Inside, James Freed’s design seems flawed: Rooms do not always have right angles, the windows are different sizes, the floor is fractured, and the interior brick walls are uneven in shape and color, as were the bricks used in the crematoria. Freed intentionally wanted to convey the sense of a world gone awry. When it first opened, some wondered how many people would want to see such a depressing museum when the fun and interesting Smithsonian Institution is down the street. In April 1998, five years after its dedication, the museum welcomed its 10 millionth visitor. The total after 10 years is now nearly 20 million. It is now considered the second most popular Washington tourist attraction after the Air & Space Museum. Of these visitors, 5.8 million were children, 2.4 million from abroad, and 14.2 million non-Jewish. The museum has also welcomed 73 heads of state/government and more than 2,000 foreign officials from 130 countries The museum collection has more than 8,000 artifacts and artwork; 20 million archival materials; more than 78,000 photographs; more than 7,000 oral histories and 630 hours of historical film and video footage. The Meed Survivors Registry lists more than 185,000 survivors and their families; from 49 states and 60 countries. The museum library has more than 50,000 items in more 15 languages. The museum is supported by a combination of government and private funds. In Fiscal Year 2003, the budget was $57.2 million ($38.4 Federal; $18.8 private). The museum has 200,000 members. The staff numbers more than 400, and more than 300 others, including 64 Holocaust survivors, donate more than 60,000 hours of service annually. NO PASSES are necessary for entering the Museum building, special exhibitions, the interactive Wexner Learning Center, and other Museum resources. Even if you cannot get Permanent Exhibition passes for the day you want to come, we invite you to visit and take advantage of the Museum's many other learning opportunities. Find out what's inside. TIMED PASSES are necessary for visiting the Permanent Exhibition — The Holocaust — and can be obtained at the Museum on the day of your visit or in advance by calling tickets.com at (800) 400–9373. Each day, the Museum distributes on a first–come first–served basis a large but limited number of timed entry passes for use that same day. HOURS Exhibitions and Museum Shop: 10 a.m.–5:20 p.m.
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