Virginia Holocaust Museum

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Joined 10 years ago

Never forget.. The Scene
Established by a Holocaust survivor to combat intolerance, honor victims of the Holocaust and educate young people on this tragic event in world history, this small museum focuses on the experience of the Ipsons, a Lithuanian Jewish family who settled in Richmond after World War II. Lacking the scope of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., the display still packs an emotional wallop with its personal, detailed approach. To give children a hands-on feeling, for example, the museum includes a crawl-through model of an underground hiding place used for nine months by Jay Ipson as a child hiding from the Nazis. Exhibits on Kristallnacht, ghetto life and pre-war Lithuania are also presented. Photographs, artifacts and a library are available for research, as well as videotaping facilities for documenting survivor accounts. Call before visiting to arrange a docent tour. Ask directions to the Beth Ahabah Museum and the Jewish Cemetery to get a sense of the Jewish community's long history in Richmond.