Acclaimed Special Exhibition “Auschwitz. Not Long Ago. Not Far Away.” Coming to Museum

WASHINGTON – The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum will bring the internationally acclaimed exhibition Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. to Washington, D.C., for the first time, presenting original artifacts from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum and over 20 collections from around the world that have rarely been seen in the United States. The exhibition will be on display from January 2027 through spring 2029.

“At Auschwitz as a teenager, I was forced to sort through the belongings of people who had just been gassed: their shoes, their photographs, the small things they carried with them. Nothing can bring back the victims, but artifacts like these can tell their stories,” said Holocaust survivor and Museum volunteer Irene Weiss. “What was once stolen from the dead can now teach the living. For the generations who will never meet a survivor, these objects will carry the memory forward when we are gone.”

Created by Musealia and co-produced with the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. tells the story of the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp complex, which was located in German-occupied Poland and operated from 1940-1945. Here, more than 1.1 million people, including 1 million Jews, were murdered during the Holocaust.

“With Holocaust denial and antisemitism rising at unprecedented levels, just as knowledge of this watershed event is declining, it is more urgent than ever that this important exhibition is on view in our nation’s capital,” said Jeffrey L. Miller, Museum chairman. “Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. preserves the truth and confronts those who seek to erase it. Teaching our young people the history and lessons of the Holocaust is our primary moral obligation—and essential for the future of our democracy. The Museum is very grateful to Allan Holt whose exceptional generosity is making this unique exhibition possible.”

For the first time on its tour, this extraordinary exhibition will be free to the public. This will allow the millions of annual visitors to the nation's capital, including school groups, to learn about the special role of Auschwitz in the systematic murder of six million Jewish men, women and children by Nazi Germany and its collaborators as well as the persecution of millions of other people.

As Holocaust denial increases at alarming rates and the collective memory of the Holocaust grows more distant — a national study by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany found 63% of U.S. millennials and Gen Z did not know that six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust — Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. offers an urgently needed direct encounter with the authentic evidence of the crimes that took place at Auschwitz and the people who perpetrated those crimes.

Museum director Sara J. Bloomfield added: “Today, fewer than 1,000 survivors of Auschwitz remain and World War II feels like the distant past to many Americans. We can’t bring our visitors to Auschwitz but through this exhibition, we are bringing a sense of Auschwitz to them in a very visceral way.”

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. will be the Museum’s must-see exhibition while it remains open to the public during construction of its new permanent exhibition. A decade in the making, this major undertaking will ensure the history’s relevance to new generations and counter efforts to deny the truth of the Holocaust. 

The current permanent exhibition will not be available to the public during construction, which will begin in January 2027 and be completed in 2029. During this time, the Museum will offer visitors a wide range of exhibitions and experiences in addition to Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. These include: Remember the Children: Daniel’s Story; Violent Antisemitism Before, During and After the Holocaust; Americans and the Holocaust; film presentations; and opportunities to meet Holocaust survivors. 

More information about visiting Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. will be available in the coming months.

A nonpartisan federal, educational institution, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is America’s national memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, dedicated to ensuring the permanence of Holocaust memory, understanding, and relevance. The power of Holocaust history challenges leaders and individuals worldwide to think critically about their role in society and to confront antisemitism and other forms of hate, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity.