Why We Build Memorials

Memorials and museums serve a purpose that goes beyond commemoration. They are arguments — made in stone, steel, light, and artifact — that what happened must be remembered, that the victims were real people who deserve to be named and honored, and that the world must never allow such crimes to recur. Visiting these places is one of the most direct ways a person can engage with Holocaust history and carry its lessons forward.

Major Holocaust Memorials and Museums

Yad Vashem — Jerusalem, Israel

Established in 1953 by an act of the Israeli Knesset, Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust and one of the most significant Holocaust institutions in the world. Its campus spans 45 acres on the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem and includes:

  • The Holocaust History Museum — a 4,200 square meter triangular structure built through the mountain, tracing the history of European Jewry through the Nazi era
  • The Hall of Names — a repository of over six million pages of testimony honoring each known victim
  • The Children's Memorial — a haunting underground chamber with mirrors and candlelight, dedicated to the 1.5 million Jewish children who were murdered
  • The Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations — honoring non-Jews who risked their lives to rescue Jews

Practical info: Yad Vashem is free to visit. Advanced booking is recommended. Allow at least half a day.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum — Washington, D.C.

Opened in 1993 and located on the National Mall, the USHMM is the United States' national institution for Holocaust documentation, education, and remembrance. The permanent exhibition takes visitors through three floors of history — from the early Nazi period through the liberation of the camps. Upon entry, each visitor receives an identity card of a real Holocaust victim, personalizing the experience from the outset.

The museum also houses a world-class research library, a survivors' registry, and a Center for the Prevention of Genocide that monitors current atrocity risks worldwide.

Practical info: General admission is free, though timed passes may be required. Allow 2–3 hours minimum for the permanent exhibition.

Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum — Oświęcim, Poland

The site of the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp complex, Auschwitz-Birkenau was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. It is both a memorial to the more than one million people — the overwhelming majority of them Jews — who were murdered there, and a museum preserving the original camp structures, artifacts, and documents.

Visitors can tour the original Auschwitz I camp — including the notorious gate bearing the inscription Arbeit Macht Frei ("Work Sets You Free") — as well as the vast Birkenau site, where most of the killing took place. The experience is somber and profoundly moving.

Practical info: Guided tours are strongly recommended. Entry to Auschwitz I requires advance booking. The site is open year-round.

Memorial de la Shoah — Paris, France

Located in the Marais neighborhood, which was historically the heart of Parisian Jewish life, the Memorial de la Shoah houses a museum, an archive, and a crypt containing ashes of victims from the death camps and the Warsaw Ghetto. A Wall of Names lists the 76,000 Jews deported from France. It is both a local and a European institution of great significance.

Berlin Holocaust Memorial — Berlin, Germany

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, designed by architect Peter Eisenman and opened in 2005, is one of the most striking contemporary memorials in the world. Located near the Brandenburg Gate, it consists of 2,711 grey concrete slabs of varying heights on an undulating ground — a deliberately disorienting space that resists simple interpretation. An underground information center beneath the memorial provides historical context.

Tips for Visiting Holocaust Sites

  • Prepare beforehand. Reading about the site — or about the Holocaust more generally — before you visit will deepen your understanding enormously.
  • Dress and behave respectfully. These are places of mourning and remembrance, not tourist attractions.
  • Give yourself time. Do not rush. These places deserve reflection.
  • Use the educational resources. Most major institutions offer audio guides, guided tours, and accompanying materials.
  • Talk about what you experienced. The impact of a visit should not end at the exit. Share what you saw and learned.