We visited ALOT of places during our time in DC.
The United States Holocaust Museum in D.C. stood out to me for so many reasons. My husband and I visited the Holocaust Museum in Israel back in ’98 and it was a sobering reminder of the disgraceful things that happened to millions of innocent people.
This time was our opportunity to share this tragic piece of history with our kids.
As hard as the subject matter is, I feel it’s important to know, so that we never allow history to repeat itself in generations to come.
We entered the children’s area first.
It was such a great exhibit because it really took your through the journey by the story of boy named Daniel who survived the Holocaust.
His diary is the foundation of the exhibit and really gives insight into the emotions of what a child felt during that time.
You walked through examples of what his house would have looked like before and after the persecution.
As you walked thru the rooms you were able to connect to the humanity. My boys saw what types of toys he would have played with.
They were able to see what his kitchen would have looked like.
They transition you to the emotions and feeling that a child would have felt during the persecution.
You walk thru each room and see journal entries and really are forced to think about what the experience really would have been like for someone.
So many times I feel like we become desensitized to tragedies because of the news.
We need to put a story and a face with hopes and dreams behind every image we see.
I think it was the perfect way to explain the Holocaust in a way that kids understand. At the end of the exhibit kids were invited to write down their feelings about what they had seen and experienced in viewing the situation thru someone else’s eyes.
Afterwards, we took the elevator to the top floor of the exhibit. We were each given an identification card of a person who lived during the holocaust.
As you read through the booklet you could find out if your person lived or died. Half of the people ‘s stories we were given survived.
We could have spent hours in the museum but decided to move along fast to help with our kid’s attention spans and bypass some of the more graphic pictures.
There was a lot of content to take in.
So many families affected by the tragedy.
One of the images that stood out to me the most was the piles of shoes on display. Representing all that remained of the lives who wore them.
I am so glad that we went there. These stories need to be continually retold so that what happened never happens again.
Check out the Unites States Holocaust Memorial Museum website to plan a visit.
You can read more about our DC road trip in these other posts.
