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About Virginia Holocaust Museum

Location:

2000 E. Cary Street, Richmond, VA 23223, US

Mission Statement

The Virginia Holocaust Museum (VHM) views its primary mission as educating the world-wide community about the historical and personal realities of the Holocaust. Through its permanent exhibitions, the Museum remembers the atrocities of the Shoah, the sacrifices of its victims, the bravery of its heroes, and the courage of the Survivors. The Museum’s commitment to Tolerance Through Education, encapsulates its goal to combat bigotry, anti-Semitism, racism, prejudice, and hatred, with knowledge and equality.

Description

The Museum was founded in 1997, in an effort to preserve and educate people on the atrocities of the Holocaust, and modern Genocides. Within three years of its opening, the increasing number of visitors particularly from area middle & high schools, the Trustees & Staff began to research of potential spaces for further organizational growth and development.

In 2001, the Virginia General Assembly proposed the donation of the former American Tobacco Company building, in the Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom district, with the goal of creating a museum dedicated to education, and the preservation of Survivors’ experiences. After nearly three years of restoration and reconfiguration, in 2004, the expanded Museum opened on East Cary Street.

The VHM has since embraced an active role not only across Virginia but also on a regional level. Our educational successes include the creation of a requirement to teach the Holocaust in accordance with the Virginia Standards of Learning; our flagship educator development workshop, the Alexander Lebenstein Teacher Education Institute (TEI); and providing both guided tours, and educational resources to Mid-Atlantic States.