• The Holocaust Exhibition at the Imperial War Museum
The Imperial War Museum London has since 2000 displayed a large Holocaust exhibition. It is Great Britain's most important national display on this topic.
Image: London, 2010, The Imperial War Museum, Stiftung Denkmal
London, 2010, The Imperial War Museum, Stiftung Denkmal

Image: London, 2010, British naval gun in front of the main building of the museum, Stiftung Denkmal
London, 2010, British naval gun in front of the main building of the museum, Stiftung Denkmal
In 1917, while the First World War was still being fought, the British government decided to begin collecting material for a later exhibition on the war. In 1920, the Imperial War Museum was officially established by the British parliament. Initially housed at various locations, it moved to its present seat in 1936. Since its establishment, the museum has aimed to not only present uniforms and military equipment, but to deal with the way in which war affects lives.
The collection was moved to a location outside of London during the Battle of Britain in 1940. In 1946, the museum was reopened and extended to include artefacts related to World War II. In 1953, it was decided that the museum would deal with all armed conflicts in which Great Britain and states of the Commonwealth had participated in recent history.
In 2000, Queen Elizabeth II opened the permanent exhibition on the Holocaust.
Image: London, 2010, The Imperial War Museum, Stiftung Denkmal
London, 2010, The Imperial War Museum, Stiftung Denkmal

Image: London, 2010, British naval gun in front of the main building of the museum, Stiftung Denkmal
London, 2010, British naval gun in front of the main building of the museum, Stiftung Denkmal
The exhibition aims to present extensive information about the Holocaust. It is therefore dedicated to the up to six million murdered Jews of Europe.
Image: London, 2007, View of the Holocaust Exhibition, Imperial War Museum
London, 2007, View of the Holocaust Exhibition, Imperial War Museum

Image: London, 2007, View of the Holocaust Exhibition, Imperial War Museum
London, 2007, View of the Holocaust Exhibition, Imperial War Museum
There are branches of the Imperial War Museum in several other cities. The main seat is located in a former hospital building in London. One of the most visited museums in Great Britain, it contains several permanent exhibitions, most prominently dealing with the British involvement in the two world wars. The permanent and temporary exhibitions concentrate less on purely military aspects of warfare than on the human side of war - this includes art exhibits.
The museum had been planning a Holocaust exhibition since 1989, however, this only became possible after the main building had been extended. The extensive exhibition outlines the causes of the National Socialist genocide starting with the beginnings of the NSDAP and its anti-Semitic propaganda in the 1920s. Various artefacts are used to illustrate the presentation on the genocide, such as prisoners' utensils from concentration camps or a pushcart used to transport the dead in the Warsaw Ghetto. The exhibition also contains a model of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. The last section is dedicated to survivors and their testimonies. Next to the genocide of the Jews, the exhibition also deals with the persecution of other victim groups under National Socialism.
In 1999, a memorial was dedicated in the park of the Imperial War Museum to the approximately 27 million Soviet citizens who perished during World War II. This is the only memorial of its kind in Great Britain.
Image: London, 2007, Model of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, Imperial War Museum
London, 2007, Model of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, Imperial War Museum

Image: London, 2010, Memorial to the Soviet victims of the Second World War, Stiftung Denkmal
London, 2010, Memorial to the Soviet victims of the Second World War, Stiftung Denkmal
Name
The Holocaust Exhibition at the Imperial War Museum
Address
Lambeth Road
SE1 6HZ London
Phone
+44 (0)20 7416 5000
Fax
+44 (0)20 7416 5374
Web
http://london.iwm.org.uk
E-Mail
mail@iwm.org.uk
Open
Daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Possibilities
Educational tours and seminars for school groups, professional development seminars for teachers