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WHAT’S INSIDE

When designing the Museum building, architect James Ingo Freed created an architectural relationship between the building and the exhibitions inside. The result is not a neutral shell. Instead, the architecture refers to the history the Museum addresses, with numerous architectural allusions to the Holocaust. Visitors are able to form their own interpretations of these subtle metaphors of history, often a catalyst for thought and introspection. Within the Museum, there are many things to see and do.

Survivor Volunteers at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Museum Art and Architecture
Survivor Volunteers

The Permanent Exhibition
The museum building is organized by the principles it was built to support: education and remembrance. Museum exhibitions, the foundation of our educational presentations, exist on four floors. Many visitors begin with the Permanent Exhibition, which can take up to several hours to tour. Smaller special exhibitions take less time to view and provide microcosmic stories within the greater history. Another mission of the Museum building is to serve as a memorial to the victims. Visitors are invited to spend time reflecting in the Hall of Remembrance, on the lower level on the south side of the building.

The Hall of Remembrance
Exhibitions
Meyerhoff Theater
Hall of Remembrance
Survivors Registry
Children's Tile Wall

The Museum serves as a research facility for scholars, teachers, and students of all ages. The Library and the Archives (Fifth Floor), Wexner Learning Center (Second Floor), and Benjamin and Vladka Meed Registry of Jewish Holocaust Survivors (Second Floor) provide opportunities for visitors to learn about the history of the Holocaust.

  Wexner Learning Center
Library
Collections

Museum Café The Museum Café, in the Ross Administrative Center adjacent to the Museum, is now open from 8:30 a.m – 4:30 p.m, 7 days a week. No food or beverages are allowed in the Museum itself. You may ensure that a kosher meal is available when you visit by contacting cafe@ushmm.org or call the Café at (202) 488–6151.

  And please stop by the Museum Shop. There you can find books, academic publications, and music. The Shop is open from 10 a.m.–5:20 p.m.


BEFORE YOUR VISIT
The Visitor's Guide and Permanent Exhibition Guide may be helpful to you in planning your visit to the Museum. On the day of your visit, please also check at the Information Desk, in the center of the Hall of Witness on the First Floor, for a listing of daily program offerings.

100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW
Washington, DC 20024–2126
Main telephone: (202) 488–0400
TTY: (202) 488–0406


Visitor's Guide
Permanent Exhibition Guide
available as pdf file
get Adobe Acrobat
Permanent Exhibition Guide
Visitor's Guide
available as pdf file
get Adobe Acrobat


Museum Policies
  • Eating, drinking, and smoking are not permitted.
  • On entry, all visitors must pass through metal detectors and have their belongings scanned.
  • Video/audio recording are not permitted.
  • Photography is not permitted in the exhibitions.
  • Flash photography is not permitted in the Hall of Remembrance.
  • Private use of Museum classrooms, theaters and meeting spaces by outside groups or organizations is prohibited.
  • The Museum cannot guarantee entry to groups that arrive more than 30 minutes late of their scheduled group reservation time.