Virginia Holocaust Museum — Attraction in Richmond

My husband and I lived in Richmond from 2006-2010. We were very fortunate to get to visit the many museums, historical sites and monuments in Virginia and surrounding states. We were most taken by the Holocaust Museum in Richmond! Whenever our family came to visit, we made it a point to take them there so that they could have the same eye-opening experience that we had. We must have gone at least 10 times! This particular museum has audio guide, photos, and exhibitions that are engaging and really make you think deeply. It accurately tells the Holocaust history and stories and helps you to connect emotionally to the victims and survivors. It gives you as full an experience as possible about this atrocious occurrence. I have to say that for us, the best part of the tour was always at the end when Jay Ipson would come out and greet us and answer any questions that we had. He was always at the end like clockwork. He had such a charismatic personality and people were drawn to him because of this. The museum can understandably and rightfully leave a visitor feeling angry and sad about this part of history but after speaking to Mr. Ipson, you left feeling inspired and enlightened as well. We bought the book, “Izzy’s Fire”, in 2007. (I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Holocaust victims and survivors- You will want to read it, pass it on to family/friends and then read it again and again!) He actually inscribed it for me, which I think is so very special. I researched online and saw that he is no longer a part of the museum, which I find confusing and disappointing but I hope that he and his family know that his contribution and legacy has been left in the hearts and minds of the many people that got the amazing opportunity to actually meet him and...

I've known someone to claim to be a prisoner in both a Russian Gulag as well as a German Concentration camp. Though this encounter spiraled me into a direction of skepticism regarding the nature of the Holocaust (of which I should not reference here, as I believe the evidence of the atrocities of WWII and the evil German government has made quite clear) it has been important for me to recognize the narrative of truth, and those whom encompass it (I don't want some misguided idiot--such as myself once upon a time--to believe the deniers and think this didn't happen, because it did; however I do believe that the truth of what happened should be made apparent, and that might suggest that the narrative of WWII was hijacked by our government to justify their own evils during the war.) This museum doesn't try to sugarcoat the reality of what took place and I believe that anyone whom starts off at the beginning of the self-guided tour and believes that is sufficient for their perusal, is selling themselves short of what this museum is about; namely that it doesn't try to bluff you with fluff and mistruths, as you could literally spend hours reading the wall details that are plainly detailing important facts about the times leading up to the war as well as what took place. For what they accomplished I should say it is a true gem for anyone wishing to explore this time, in order to make sense of it. Thank you, and I'm glad I donated $20, and wish I...

This is a FREE museum! I still can’t even believe it. You can donate and the run on donations. There so much history in this place it’s crazy! Because of Covid you have to make an online reservation but again, it doesn’t cost anything to do. We went first thing in the morning and we were the only people there. It starts off with a 15 min video of the survivors. Then you get to go on a self guided tour, room by room. One room leads into the other. It starts with how the Holocaust started and goes thru all the way until it ended and after. It also details people that helped and saved a lot of Jews, people taking in Jewish children and acting like they were their family to protect them...even as an adult who is knowledgeable on the holocaust, I was able to learn quite a bit. My kids learned a ton! We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. This is a must see if you’re in the...