El Paso Holocaust Museum and Study Center, El Paso (must see)

El Paso Holocaust Museum and Study Center was founded in 1984 by Holocaust survivor Henry Kellen and local community members who wanted to preserve personal stories and promote human rights education. What started as a small local effort became a museum and study centre focused on teaching the history of the Holocaust and encouraging discussion about prejudice, responsibility, and moral choices. Its work is based on remembrance and on the idea that learning about the past can influence how people act today.

The permanent exhibition explains the rise of Nazism in Germany and the persecution of Jews and other targeted groups during the Second World War. It explains how ghettos, concentration camps, and extermination camps were established across Europe. Photographs, documents, personal items, and survivor testimonies make the history more personal, while a model of the Auschwitz complex shows how the camp system worked. Panels also outline key events such as the Nuremberg Laws of 1935 and Kristallnacht in 1938.

Another part of the museum looks at other genocides and human rights violations around the world. By linking the Holocaust to later events, it encourages visitors to recognize patterns of discrimination and the early signs of intolerance. Educational programmes, lectures, and student activities are an important part of its mission.

Most visitors move through the museum at a quiet, steady pace. The layout gives time to read, listen, and reflect. For those interested in twentieth-century history and human rights, it provides a clear introduction to one of the most tragic chapters in modern history.