Holocaust Museum

 

Yesterday was our first full day of sight-seeing around Washington D.C. and the first place we went was the Holocaust Memorial Museum.  We weren't allowed to take any photos, so I don't have much to show you, but the experience was unbelievable.  The museum has a new exhibition where you each have to take an identity card before you entered.  The identity cards are individuals that were part of World War II.  Mine was about an individual that tried helping the Jews escape from being sent to the concentration camps.  The exhibit was mind-boggling.  They had video, images and stories of the Holocaust.  The exhibit started with how Hitler came into control and then as you walked through it was the timeline of how the Holocaust started and continued.

 

I wish I could have taken pictures.  The images will be forever ingrained into my head, but to explain these images is not possible.  There are images of starved children, women and men that were in concentration camps.  They had the shoes under a little bridge that were taken away from all of them.  I would highly recommend going to the Holocaust Museum any chance that you get.  To get a glimpse into the history of this country and world is indescribable.

 

After we got done with the museum we headed up towards Ford Theatre where Lincoln was shot and then went to the house across the street where Lincoln died.

 

 

This image is the room that Lincoln was sitting in when John Wilkes Booth came up behind him and shot him in the head.  One thing that I learned about the assassination of Lincoln is that there was more than just Booth that was involved in the assassination.  There was an entire conspiracy theory out there and originally they were going to kidnap Lincoln but decided that they wanted him dead instead.  They still hold theatre plroductions at this theatre which I thought was pretty cool.

 

We also got to see the White House today.  We didn't take a tour because in order to get tickets you have to contact your Congressman prior to going, but we got to see it from a park that is in front. 

 

 

Today we are off to see all the memorials and monuments.  Yesterday we walked past the Washington Monument but we are going to go back and see everything else today.