Virginia Holocaust Museum in Richmond - Essay Example

The museum was created to preserve and educate people on the carnage of the Holocaust of world war two. The main mission of the museum is “Teaching Tolerance through Education”, that is, remembering the victims of the Holocaust of World War II, promoting tolerance, providing educational materials on the Holocaust, and promoting public awareness and understanding of the Holocaust of World War II (Shosteck and Heland, 88).
Even though the museum was founded by three people, it mainly focuses on the experiences of the Ipsons during the holocaust of World War II. The Ipsons were Lithuanian Jewish and settled in Richmond after World War II. The Virginia Holocaust museum was originally housed in several vacant rooms of a local temple, Beth El, in Richmond, Virginia. However, in 2003 the museum changed its location to the old tobacco warehouse at 2000 East Cary Street Richmond, Virginia. The warehouse was donated by the state of Virginia legislature after it flourished and outgrew its original space in 2000. The new location of the museum was dedicated during the Day of Remembrance and Heroism in April 2003 (Shosteck and Heland, 88).

Personal Response
The museum provides visitors with true experiences of the holocaust of World War II. It allows people who visit it to feel as though they are part of the happenings of the Holocaust. Furthermore, the exhibits featured in the museum also provide life-size recreations that are related to the Holocaust. For example, visitors can take a walk through a ghetto and observe full-size replicas of important places. They can also board cattle cars similar to the ones used by the Nazis to transport Holocaust victims to the concentration camps and crawl into hiding places like the ones used by the Jewish people to hide from the Nazis (Virginia Holocaust Museum). The museum also has many pictures, audio materials, and several hands-on exhibits that can be touched and allow people to become part of them. To sum it all up, the museum was nicely set up and provides visitors with a hands-on feeling of the happenings of the Holocaust.

Why Richmond Has A Holocaust Museum?
Although created by three individuals, the Virginia holocaust museum is mainly about the family experiences of the holocaust survivor Jay Ipson.