The 1979 Report of the President’s Commission on the Holocaust, which led to the creation of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, stated, “Only a conscious, concerted attempt to learn from past errors can prevent recurrence to any racial, religious, ethnic, or national group.”
The “lessons learned” project of the Museum’s Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide is one way the institution seeks to carry out the charge to identify lessons from history that can potentially contribute to saving lives by preventing future genocides and related crimes against humanity.
To identify these insights, we reviewed academic articles and think tank reports, and interviewed experts. We then distilled this body of policy-relevant knowledge into an accessible, practical resource.
Explore the results of our research review, including information on 12 atrocity prevention tools and the factors that are associated with their success.
Find key conclusions from our research and implications for policy makers and researchers.
Learn how we conducted our research review and interviews with experienced practitioners.
Find key reports, summaries of practitioner interviews, and CSV files of all of the collected data.
This report discusses four types of strategies that can be used to help prevent mass atrocities.
This report discusses obstacles to using knowledge on atrocity prevention and makes recommendations for using this knowledge most effectively.