Interpretation of the Unimaginable: The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C., and “Dark Tourism”

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., has received visitation levels in excess of 2 million per annum since its opening in April 1993. Such a development was not without controversy. The museum’s permanent exhibition contains more than 5,000 artifacts, including photographs, unifor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of travel research 1999-08, Vol.38 (1), p.46-50
Main Authors: Lennon, J. John, Foley, Malcolm
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
20th century
Art museums
Atrocities
Computer terminals
Culture
Ethics
Funding
Historicism
History
Holocaust
Information services
Information services industry
Memorials & monuments
Modernity
Museum exhibits
Museums
Power
Simulation
Studies
Tourism
Travel industry
Washington, D.C
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Summary:The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., has received visitation levels in excess of 2 million per annum since its opening in April 1993. Such a development was not without controversy. The museum’s permanent exhibition contains more than 5,000 artifacts, including photographs, uniforms, letters, and a rail car used to take Jewish prisoners and others to the death camps. Through the use of computer terminals, visitors are able to review records in newspapers, watch film clips, and hear taped interviews with Holocaust survivors. Such a concern with replication and simulation is central to the treatment and analysis of the phenomenon known as “dark tourism” (tourism of sites of death, atrocity, and mass killing). This article analyzes the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in the context of dark tourism, concluding that the museum’s nature, content, and purpose pose questions about visitor motivation, “dark” attraction development, ethical management, and the interpretation of history.
ISSN:0047-2875
1552-6763
DOI:10.1177/004728759903800110