The El Paso Holocaust Museum and Study Center, located in Downtown El Paso, is a memorial to the millions of people who were brutally murdered by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Regime from 1933 to 1945. The Museum’s mission is to:
- Educate the public, particularly young people, about the Nazi Holocaust as a way of ensuring that similar acts will not be repeated;
- Honor those who perished in the Holocaust and those who survived;
- Oppose prejudice and bigotry by reminding the world of the importance of acceptance, the value and dignity of human life and the consequences of negating these principles.
Visitors to the Museum will learn about the Holocaust through its permanent exhibit, which features a number of multi-media galleries that chronicle the events of the Holocaust. The lessons in these galleries include: Life in Europe before the Nazi Party; the Rise of the Nazi Party; the Use of Nazi Propaganda; Kristallnacht ; Life in the Ghettos; Transportation by Railcars to the Camps; Life and Death in Nazi Concentration Camps; Liberation by the Allied Forces; the Righteous Among the Nations; a Memorial and Reflection Room; and a Gallery of El Paso Holocaust Survivors.
All of the materials in the Museum’s galleries are presented in both English and Spanish. The Museum was designed by El Paso artist Victor Mireles.
Additionally, the Museum offers year-round programming to supplement the lessons of the Holocaust. These include a Book Club, speaker presentations, a summer camp, educational workshops and an annual Holocaust Remembrance Commemoration. The Robert & Sara Shiloff Library & Study Center is also open to the public and offers thousands of Holocaust-related books for research purposes.
The Museum is a nonprofit organization led by a dedicated Board of Directors, a staff of three employees and dozens of dedicated volunteers. The Museum does not charge admission but welcomes donations by visitors.
In order to keep its doors open, the Museum relies on grants, membership dues, donations and annual fundraisers. Recent granting organizations include the City of El Paso’s Museums and Cultural Affairs Department, the Jewish Federation of El Paso, the Robert and Evelyn McKee Foundation and the Shiloff Family Foundation.