The state-of-the-art Holocaust and Human Rights Museum has opened its doors to the public in Dallas, Texas, allowing visitors to educate themselves through ground-breaking technology and stunning interactive displays.
Located in downtown Dallas, the museum’s mission is to educate students and the public about the history of the Holocaust, human rights and the ethical responsibility for all people to combat prejudice. The 55,000-square-foot museum is unique among the nation’s 21 Holocaust-related museums, as it expands its examination of the event through technology-enriched galleries on human rights, other historic genocides, and America’s own journey for civil rights. The museum also features 68 video testimonies from Dallas-area Holocaust survivors, artefacts from concentration and death camps, displays of real locations like the Brandenburg Gate, and a fully-restored Nazi-era boxcar.
Immersive interactive technology greets visitors throughout the three floors, including the Human Rights Wing where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ten stages of genocide are explored. The Pivot to America Wing allows visitors to explore the development of civil and human rights throughout the nation’s history, while the American Ideals, Reality and Repair Gallery spotlights American and Texan citizens who have dedicated their time to the cause. There is also a theatre that allows visitors to learn about the role implicit bias plays in their own thinking.
In addition, the new museum has an interactive, holographic project developed by the USC Shoah Foundation that sees visitors to interact with Holocaust survivors, including one of Dallas’ own, Max Glauben.
The tour culminates with call-to-action kiosks asking visitors to use what they have learned on the tour from that point onwards. The museum also includes a 250-seat theatre auditorium for film screenings and events, two classrooms, a climate-controlled library and archives, and the Memorial and Reflection Room for visitors to rest and reflect on the exhibition.
“For our opening, more than 1100 people lined up to visit the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum. Reaction from visitors is overwhelmingly positive. For many, a visit to the museum is the first they are learning of the Holocaust. Visitors have been deeply moved by the Memorial and Reflection Room, where the families of local Holocaust survivors are memorialized and remembered in a magnificently-designed room filled with natural light and memorial electric candles,” a representative of the museum told Lonely Planet.
More information on the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum is available at the official website.
