The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, was recommended to me by almost everyone I know who’s been to the nation’s capitol. When I ended up in DC on business, I made sure to experience the museum for myself.

Here’s what you can expect during your visit to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.

Getting Started: Tickets and Location

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has a lot to see. Tickets are required (between March and August) for the exhibit that walks you through a timeline of the holocaust: 1933 to 1945. Other areas of the holocaust museum do not require a ticket.

Between March 1 and August 31, a ticket is required to tour the US Holocaust Museum. The tickets are free, and are meant to help keep crowds from being overwhelming. When you get your ticket, it will be for a certain time of day.

There are two ways to get a ticket:

• In person: You can pick up tickets in person at the holocaust museum starting at 9:45. Tickets are only available for visits that same day.
• Online: Get tickets in advance of your trip, or even same day. There is a $1 transaction fee per ticket for using the online feature.

The holocaust museum is just south of the National Mall. It’s a short 5-10 minute walk southeast of the Washington Monument and other historic memorials.

Because of limited parking in the area, the metro is the best transportation option. The Smithsonian metro stop is only one block east of the holocaust museum.

Experience the US Holocaust Memorial Museum Tour

The tour through the multiple floors of the holocaust museum is humbling.

At the start of your tour, your given a little booklet with information about an actual holocaust survivor. After a brief introduction, you board an elevator to the top floor. When the door opens, the large photo on the wall nearly smacks you in the face. The horrors of the holocaust are apparent from the initial images on the wall.

After seeing that, you follow the path through the museum. Exhibits and displays walk you through how Hitler and the Nazi regime came into power. How the propaganda influenced behaviors and led to anti Semitic actions. And the horrors of the holocaust.

My nine-year-old son was with my wife and I on the trip. He became bored during the visit, mainly because of all the reading. But trying to comprehend how an entire culture could bring people together with the mindset that other cultures were not only inferior, but should be exterminated, was unimaginable.

Think about What you Saw

Following our official tour, we made a stop in the gift shop to grab a souvenir of our visit. We found a few options for the collectible tokens. I chose the one with the words “Think about what you saw.” For me, that was the most thought-provoking phrase from the visit.

In today’s world, if more people can visit the museum and think about what they saw, we can take actions to prevent it from happening to other cultures, races, genders or other characteristics that make people different.

My son picked the coin that said, “Never again.” Hopefully something like this will never happen again, and it’s apparent the holocaust museum’s purpose is to help it never happen again.

The Details

Address: 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW, Washington, DC 20024

Cost: Tickets are required between March 1 to August 31. They are free, but if you order online there is a $1 transaction fee per ticket.

Hours: The Holocaust Museum and all its exhibits are open every day from 10 am to 5:20 pm. The museum is closed on Yom Kippir and Christmas Day.

How Long: You should plan on about two hours for your visit. That will allow you adequate time to take in the information and exhibits.

Website: https://www.ushmm.org/

Phone: (202) 488-0400

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