Holocaust Museum Website example essay topic

November 21, 2003 The Internet has without a doubt changed the way we live our lives. This brave new frontier allows us to do things in an instant that could have taken days or even weeks in the past, opening cultural doors that otherwise may have remained closed. The internet puts the cultural treasures of the world at our fingertips, everything from the Love in Paris, to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., to the Maple Syrup Museum in Pittsford, Vermont are only a few keystrokes away. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is dedicated to preserving the memory of one of the most horrendous crimes ever committed, through the documentation, study, and interpretation of the Holocaust (web). While browsing the museum website one can view personal articles of prisoners, read stories of children in hiding, and view Nazi propaganda articles. There are of course questions as to the quality of an Internet visit to this or any other museum.

The answer to this is of course that any cultural exposure, be it via the Internet or in person will only serve to expand ones understanding of art, history, and culture. The Holocaust museum website provides the web surfer a wonderful collection of information organized and presented in a chronological and user friendly manner allowing even the most computer illiterate to navigate the site, and understand the material. The ghostly images on the home page are like a slap of reality in the face of the viewer. These images combined with the personal histories bring this event to a very personal level for the reader, leaving one with the understanding that these were everyday people caught in the terrible events of history. This most horrific event is covered from beginning to end, and there are the ongoing genocide watches. The introduction to the Holocaust gives a brief history of events, groups targeted, and methods used to dispatch said groups, helping the virtual visitor understand the events leading to the wholesale murder of over six million people.

There are special focus areas that cover, and help the viewer understand the subject of anti-Semitism which is referred to as the "oldest hatred" (web). Special exhibits such as the Anne Frank exhibit provide a viewing of some of Anne's original writings leaving one with an empty feeling of hopelessness, wondering what would have come of such a talented young girl had she survived. Animated maps help even the most geographically challenged understand the incredible scope of Nazi conquests, while other maps help the visitor understand the system of camps. There were for instance three camps at Auschwitz, Auschwitz I, Auswitz II (Birkenau), and Auswitz (Monowitz) (web), all in very close proximity to one another, all providing slave labor to Nazi industry, industry owned by companies that are in many cases still in business today.

The personal histories of the victims, both numerous and terrifying draw the reader into the cattle cars, camps, and the ghettos. If the personal histories are not enough to make one question mans inhumanity to man, the Committee of Conscience section surely will. The mandate of Committee of Conscience is "to alert the national conscience, influence policy makers, and stimulate worldwide action to confront, and work to halt acts of genocide or related crimes against humanity" (web). Currently the Committee of Conscience has issued a genocide warning for Sudan, and a genocide watch for Chechnya. In the last seventeen years two million Sudanese citizens have been murdered, and four million more displaced.

Government policies of divide and destroy, mass starvation, bombing of clinics and hospitals, enslavement, and persecution because of race, and religion are common place (web). Linking these pages to the museums site helps the viewer understand how the holocaust could be allowed to happen, and lays to rest the theory that the world would never again allow such a crime to take place. While browsing the museum website one cannot help notice the use of technology in presenting and in creating the exhibits. The viewer can take advantage of audio and video presentations in the multi media archives.

There are also web links to help focus on specific topics such as, Anne Frank, art of the Holocaust, film, and photographs, and war crimes trials just to name a few. The use of architectural technology in creating, and setting the atmosphere for the exhibits is apparent throughout the museum. Architect James Ingo Freed visited Holocaust sites to include ghettos and death camps, making free hand sketches of structures, and noting types of building materiel used (web). The resulting relationship between structure and exhibit enhances the visitor's experience. Throughout the museum rough industrial construction methods of the Holocaust period are employed.

Crisscrossed steel trappings seem to hold back a tremendous pressure behind the north wall. The use of contrasting black granite and white marble walls in the Hall of Witnesses seem to reflect hope, and hopelessness, while a staircase that narrows as you ascend seems an ominous reminder of the long path of the railroad to the camps. While viewing the exhibit visitors can see ethereal figures crossing the glass bridge over the Hall of Witnesses lending an air of surveillance to the surroundings, as though guards are patrolling the perimeter. The use of technology has certainly improved the quality of the exhibits and programs for a number of reasons. The Internet allows people worldwide to visit and experience the museum. Artifacts have been preserved, and personal histories are documented.

There are international databases of Holocaust era assets by country, as well as a survivor's registry allowing victims and their families to search for lost friends and family as well as stolen assets. An Internet visitor to the museum can also quickly locate specific information on a topic without leaving home. Equally important as the preservation of artifacts and stories is remembrance. The museum website provides a planning checklist for organizing a remembrance day. There are also sample letters to civic leaders as well as, information on traveling exhibits, and teaching resources. Professor Yehuda Baur, task force advisor to the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research is quoted as saying.

"I come from the people that gave the Ten Commandments to the world. Time has come to strengthen them with by three additional ones; thou shalt not be a Perpetrator; thou shalt not be a victim; and thou shalt never, but never, be a bystander" (web). The question of weather an online visit is comparable to visiting in person is very simply, no. Certainly the museum's website is easily navigable, providing the visitor with an abundant amount of information on various aspects of the Holocaust, and providing an enriching experience. The problem lies in the almost sterile lack of atmosphere. While browsing the website the visitor can view the exhibits, read the survivors accounts, view Holocaust era art, and the architecture of the museum.

What the online visitor could never experience is the omnipresent feelings of tragedy and despair. Imagine standing in the museum viewing an exhibit and realizing by the tattoo on their arm that the person next to you is a survivor. To view the museum exhibits as just another face in the crowd and understand how fortunate we are to live in the time we do. The Internet provides a wonderful and boundless source for information on any subject imaginable, streamlining the lives of educators, students, and professionals. This being said, the Internet is not, however a replacement for actually experiencing an event. As social and sensory creatures, human beings need to touch, see, feel, and smell to gain full appreciation of any event.

In the end it can be said the Internet, while not a substitution for a live experience, puts places and information at our fingertips that may otherwise elude us for life. Certainly any cultural exposure, be it in person or via the internet will serve to expand ones understanding of art, history, and culture, while hopefully building tolerance so the tragic events of the past do not reoccur.