Facing the facts of the Holocaust: the challenges and the cost of failure

In this article the author examines the factors that led the US Congress to create the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. He also dicusses the importance of facing the uncomfortable facts of the history of the Holocaust. Many countries such as the USA, France, the Netherlands and Hungary have created national myths about their role in the Holocaust but it is important that these myths be scrutinised and the real facts be established. This becomes increasingly important as survivors and witnesses die.