Skip to main content

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • Site
    • English home page
    • المصادر بالعربية
    • Πηγές στα Ελληνικά
    • Recursos en español
    • منابع موجود به زبان فارسی
    • Ressources en français
    • Gyűjtemény és tudástár magyar nyelven
    • Sumber Bahasa Indonesia
    • Materiali e risorse in italiano
    • 日本語のリソース
    • 한국어 자료
    • Recursos em Português (do Brasil)
    • Материалы на русском языке
    • Türkçe Kaynaklar
    • اُردو ری سورسز
    • 中文参考资料
  • Events
  • Plan Your Visit
  • Support the Museum
  • Connect
  • Donate
  • Learn About The Holocaust
  • Remember Survivors and Victims
  • Confront Genocide and Antisemitism

  • Home
  • Museum Information
  • Press Room
  • In Memoriam

James Ingo Freed (1930–2005)

  • Visit the Museum
  • Exhibitions
  • About the Museum
  • Press Room
    • Press Releases
    • Press Kits
    • In Memoriam
      • Elie Wiesel (1928–2016)
    • Filming, Photography, and Media Usage
    • FAQs

James Ingo FreedJames Ingo Freed, the architect who designed the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, was born in Essen, Germany, in 1930. At the age of eight, he was evacuated from Europe with his younger sister, Betty. They settled in Chicago at the end of 1939, where they were later joined by their parents.


Mr. Freed studied architecture under Ludwig Mies van der Rohe at the Illinois Institute of Technology, receiving a bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1953. In 1956 he joined the office of I. M. Pei (now Pei Cobb Freed & Partners). From 1975 to 1977, he served as dean of the College of Architecture, Planning, and Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and he also taught at Cooper Union, Cornell University, the Rhode Island School of Design, Columbia University, and Yale University.

Over the course of his career, Mr. Freed received several honorary degrees and awards, including being elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in 1977 and winning the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1987. The American Institute of Architects bestowed upon him the National Honor Award in 1988 for his design of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and in 1994 for his design of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; the First Annual Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture in 1992; and the Presidential Citation for Lifetime Achievement in 1998. In 1995 the National Endowment for the Arts awarded him the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor the United States Government gives to artists.

MUSEUM STATEMENT

Freed, James Ingo. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum mourns the passing of world-renowned architect James Ingo Freed. The Museum, which he designed, is an enduring legacy and a monumental achievement, receiving the American Institute of Architects National Honor Award in 1994. Freed was a witness to Kristallnacht as a young boy in 1938 in his home town of Essen, Germany, and he escaped to the United States in 1939. His architectural genius is evident in the Museum's evocative design, which integrates the memorial experience throughout the building. He has given the world an emotionally powerful “resonator of memory” that has deepened the educational impact of the 23 million individuals who have visited the Museum from all over the world. We will be forever grateful to his singular contribution to the memory of the victims and to the education of future generations.

Fred S. Zeidman, Chairman
Joel M. Geiderman, Vice Chairman
Sara J. Bloomfield, Director

About the Museum

  • Plan Your Visit
  • Current Exhibitions
  • Calendar of Events
  • Support the Museum
  • Donate

Resources

  • Learn
  • Teach
  • Collections
  • Academic Research
  • Remember Survivors and Victims
  • Genocide Prevention
  • Antisemitism and Holocaust Denial
  • Outreach

Museum Websites

  • Holocaust Encyclopedia
  • Collections Search
  • Holocaust Survivors and Victims Resource Center
  • History Unfolded
  • Experiencing History
  • Early Warning Project
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW
Washington, DC 20024-2126
Main telephone: 202.488.0400
TTY: 202.488.0406

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • About the Museum
  • Contact the Museum
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility
  • Legal
×

#WeRemember #HolocaustRemembrance

Days of Remembrance Commemoration

Watch Live

The ceremony at the US Capitol, featuring a candle-lighting and names reading, is happening now.

×

FirstPerson

Conversations with Survivors
of the Holocaust

Watch Now

Join us right now to watch a live interview with a survivor, followed by a question-and-answer session.

×

Fight Hate and Antisemitism

Join our #GivingTuesday challenge to make your tax-deductible gift go twice as far. Help us teach about the consequences of unchecked hate and antisemitism. Give today.
MATCH MY GIFT
×

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

The Museum's commemoration ceremony, including remarks by the German ambassador and a Holocaust survivor, is happening now.

#WeRemember

Watch Now