Holocaust Museum

John called Pastor Miller, our Pastor in San Diego. He had served a church in Washington, D.C. and since we are driving rather than public transporting, we thought we'd drive by and see where it is. Turns out we drove by it in 2005 when we were here. From there we went to the Auto Club to get some new maps. Their office is just a few blocks from the White House and parking was non-existent. John dropped me off and circled the block.


We had decided to visit the Holocaust Museum today so went to find it. We missed a turn and found ourselves across the Potomoc River and on the George Washington Parkway before we knew it, then had to figure out how to get back across the River. We finally got parked and into the Museum. The atrium rises four stories so it feels huge. You have to get a timed pass for the main exhibit and ours was for 12 noon. It was 11:30 so we decided to have lunch first.



We went out the back door to go across the courtyard to the cafe. Here was a moving quote from General Eisenhower etched in the granite. The things I saw begger description...the visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty and bestiality were so overpowering...I made the visit deliberately, in order to be in a position to give first hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations to propaganda." General Dwight David Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, April 15, 1945.



When we got into the exhibit we were overwhelmed by the number of people and the amount of material. It's three floors and you work your way down chronologically. No matter how often you are faced with the facts of man's inhumanity to man, the gut response is shock and tears. Unfortunately, about an hour later the power went out and we were evacuated. The power came back on eventually, but we decided not to go back up. Instead we went through the exhibit designed for children, "Daniel's Story." They've done a great job of making the story real and understandable for children. The main exhibition is not recommended for children under 11.