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The New Mexico Holocaust & Intolerance Museum is an excellent educational experience for anyone visiting Albuquerque. It’s located downtown at 616 Central Avenue SW.

New Mexico Holocaust & Intolerance Museum
New Mexico Holocaust & Intolerance Museum

 

Visiting

The New Mexico Holocaust & Intolerance Museum is free to the public and relies on donations. Adult admission is US$6 (as of May 2024) and it’s open Wednesday through Sunday from 11am to 3:30pm.

New Mexico Holocaust & Intolerance Museum in Albuquerque
New Mexico Holocaust & Intolerance Museum

 

History

The New Mexico Holocaust Museum, formerly the New Mexico Holocaust & Intolerance Museum, was founded in 1998 and opened its doors in 2001. It was founded by Holocaust survivor Werner Gellert (1926-2019), his wife Frances, and Julianna Lerner.

The goal of the museum is to eliminate hate and intolerance through education. They provide tours for school groups, host monthly discussion groups, and provide training for teachers and school administrators about intolerance and hate prevention.

New Mexico Holocaust & Intolerance Museum in Albuquerque
New Mexico Holocaust & Intolerance Museum

 

The Museum

The New Mexico Holocaust Museum covers a broad range of historical conflicts, including local, national, and global issues. The exhibits include artifacts, photos, documents, videos, memorabilia, books, and more. There are permanent exhibits as well as temporary exhibits throughout the year.

Examples of hate and intolerance at the New Mexico Holocaust Museum in Albuquerque
Examples of hate and intolerance

 

Holocaust

About 60% of the museum focuses on the Holocaust, covering the atrocities committed by the Nazis against both Jews and non-Jews.

Holocaust exhibit at the New Mexico Holocaust Museum in Albuquerque
Holocaust exhibit
Holocaust exhibit
Holocaust exhibit
Armbands worn at Flossenberg
Armbands worn at Flossenberg
The number of Jewish and non-Jewish Holocaust victims
The number of Jewish and non-Jewish Holocaust victims

The exhibit contains some horrifying photos and artifacts from concentration camps, including armbands from Dachau, and a child’s shoe and gas shower head from Majdanek. There are also works of art that capture the horror of the Holocaust.

Armbands likely worn at Dachau at the New Mexico Holocaust Museum in Albuquerque
Armbands likely worn at Dachau
Artifacts and art from Majdanek
Artifacts and art from Majdanek
Photos from Majdanek at the New Mexico Holocaust Museum in Albuquerque
Photos from Majdanek
Gas shower head from Majdanek
Gas shower head from Majdanek

Another section of the exhibit contains information about Holocaust remembrance and survivors. One board includes photos of the Righteous Among the Nations. They were non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis.

Holocaust remembrance exhibit
Holocaust remembrance
The Righteous at the New Mexico Holocaust Museum in Albuquerque
The Righteous

 

Genocide of the Christian Minorities in the Ottoman Empire

One particular exhibit that affected me personally focused on the genocide of Christians in the Ottoman Empire. It comes complete with maps, photos, telegrams, and quotes describing the murders of Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek citizens of what is now Turkey.

Genocide of the Christian Minorities in the Ottoman Empire at the New Mexico Holocaust Museum in Albuquerque
Genocide of the Christian Minorities in the Ottoman Empire
Map of Armenian deportation centers and routes, massacres, resistances, and escape routes
Map of Armenian deportation centers and routes, massacres, resistances, and escape routes

 

Armenian Genocide

The section on the Armenian Genocide includes several photos and a brief history of how the perpetrators systematically erased the Armenian people from their homeland of 3,000 years. It also covered the continued genocide denial by Turkish authorities. It’s estimated up to 1.5 million ethnic Armenians were killed, sent on death marches, or deported between 1915 and 1917.

Armenian Genocide at the New Mexico Holocaust Museum in Albuquerque
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide exhibit
Armenian Genocide
Telegram from Henry Morgenthau, US Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, regarding deportations of Armenians at the New Mexico Holocaust Museum in Albuquerque
Telegram from Henry Morgenthau, US Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, regarding deportations of Armenians

 

Greek Genocide

The section on the Greek Genocide was very emotional for me, as my ancestors who survived had to live through the pain of being expelled from their homeland. It’s estimated between 350,000 and 900,000 ethnic Greeks were killed, sent on death marches, or deported between 1913 and 1922.

Greek Genocide at the New Mexico Holocaust Museum in Albuquerque
Greek Genocide
Greek Genocide exhibit
Greek Genocide
Greeks from Turkey arriving in Greece during the population exchange between Turkey and Greece
Greeks from Turkey arriving in Greece during the population exchange between Turkey and Greece

In Smyrna (now Izmir), thousands of Greeks were forced into the sea. The city burned while those who could reach boats were taken to safety. The sea was red with blood and bodies floated on the waves.

"Thousands of helpless citizens left their homes and stood in the harbor soon to meet their death"
“Thousands of helpless citizens left their homes and stood in the harbor soon to meet their death”
Desecration at the Smyrna cemetery at the New Mexico Holocaust Museum in Albuquerque
Desecration at the Smyrna cemetery
Greek and Armenian refugees trying to flee Smyrna
Greek and Armenian refugees trying to flee Smyrna
The city of Smyrna in flames at the New Mexico Holocaust Museum in Albuquerque
The city of Smyrna in flames

The Pontic Greeks, living along the Black Sea and in cities such as Samsun and Trabzon, had to endure mass deportations and massacres. Today, many of their historic monuments have been left in ruins and the Turkish government is uninterested in restoring them. They prefer to erase as much of this chapter of their history as possible.

Photo of a Pontian girl
Pontian girl
Quote from a refugee from Pontus
Quote from a refugee from Pontus
Decaying Greek church in Pontus
Decaying Greek church in Pontus

 

Native American Genocide

A section on the Native American Genocide displayed several photos and some artwork. The before and after photos of Native Americans forced to assimilate at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania are heartbreaking.

Native American Genocide at the New Mexico Holocaust Museum in Albuquerque
Native American Genocide
Before and after photo of Navajo Tom Toslino at the New Mexico Holocaust Museum in Albuquerque
Before and after photo of Navajo Tom Toslino
Before and after photos of Chiricahua Apache children from Florida at the New Mexico Holocaust Museum in Albuquerque
Before and after photos of Chiricahua Apache children from Florida

 

African-American Experience

The African-American Experience highlights the evils brought on by slavery, the Civil Rights movement, and the rise of hate groups within the United States. Along with photos, there were accounts of slaves describing their sale and life with their owners.

Map of active hate groups in the United States at the New Mexico Holocaust Museum in Albuquerque
Map of active hate groups in the United States
Anti-government extremist groups under each president from Clinton to Obama
Anti-government extremist groups under each president from Clinton to Obama
Types of active hate groups in the United States
Types of active hate groups in the United States

 

Rwandan Genocide

The final exhibit on display during my visit covered the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. It explained the roots of the genocide dating back to the 19th century and Belgian occupation along with photos and videos.

Rwandan Genocide at the New Mexico Holocaust Museum in Albuquerque
Rwandan Genocide

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Owner of Paisadventure. World traveler. Chicago sports lover. Living in Colombia.

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