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Holocaust Remembrance Day 2019: 5 museums, memorials around the U.S. about the Holocaust

Sunday marked the 74th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi-run concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau where more than one million people died or were killed by Nazis. January 27 was later officially commemorated when the United Nations designated it International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The day was officially designated in 2005 and has been commemorated each year since. The idea behind the day was to both honor the victims of Nazism and the Holocaust and to promote education around it while preserving sites where the acts of genocide took place, according to the Holocaust Encyclopedia from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

The day is frequently marked by commemoration ceremonies and activities to accomplish the awareness and remembrance of the day. Museums, memorials and education centers across the United States play an active role in the education around the Holocaust year-round, but especially on the day of remembrance.

Here are five Holocaust memorials and museums around the U.S. you can visit.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington D.C. — This museum is frequently reviewed as one of the best in the world. The museum officially opened in 1993 and is open every day of the year except for Christmas and Yom Kippur. The museum is on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and admission is free though visitors do have to reserve timed-tickets ahead of time.

The Nancy and David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center, Cincinnati, Ohio — The Nancy and David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center was holding its grand opening on Sunday, the same day as Remembrance Day. The new location of the center is in Union Terminal in Cincinnati where some Holocaust survivors arrived in Ohio. “The museum examines this watershed moment through its local connection,” according to the center. The center is open every day of the year except Christmas and Thanksgiving and there is a small fee for tickets.

Florida Holocaust Museum, St. Petersburg, Florida — The idea for the Florida Holocaust Museum came from a businessman and philanthropist who escaped Nazi Germany in 1939. Along with others who had a personal connection and those who just wanted to be sure the Holocaust was remembered, Walter P. Loebenberg started the museum in 1992. On Sunday there will be free admission at the museum for Remembrance Day.

Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, Los Angeles, California — This museum is the oldest survivor-founded Holocaust museum in the U.S. according to the museum. The museum began when survivors met while taking English classes and decided to put their items from the Holocaust on display. The new building for the museum opened in 2010 and admission is free but it is closed some days through the year for holidays and conferences.

Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, Skokie, Illinois — Located about a 20-minute drive north of Chicago, the museum opened in 2009 after years of an education center working out of a storefront in the area. The idea for the foundation and ultimately the museum came after neo-Nazis threatened to march in Skokie in the 1970s, according to the museum. Tickets range from $6 for children and $15 for adults and the museum is open every day except Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

© 2019 NEWSWEEK

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