Answer:
   
   Opened in April 1993, on the fiftieth anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto
   uprising, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington,
   D.C., summons all who enter its portals to rise to an important and
   extraordinary challenge: to remember and immortalize the 6 milion Jews
   and millions of other Nazi victims of World War II--Gypsies, Poles,
   homosexuals, the handicapped, Jehovah's Witnesses, political and
   religious dissidents, Soviet prisoners of war--who were murdered in
   the most horrifying event of our time: the Holocaust.
   
   The main task of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is to
   present the facts of the Holocaust, to tell the American public as
   clearly and comprehensively as possible what happened in that darkest
   chapter of human history. To this end, the Museum has reconstructed
   the history of the Holocaust through multiple media: the meaningful
   arrangement of objects as well as the presentation of documentary
   photographic and cinematographic materials. This museum holds the
   world's largest and most diversified collection of Holocaust-related
   objects; but in its display it is a "conceptual museum" rather than a
   traditional, object-oriented one: it's primary purpose is to
   communicate concepts, complex information, and knowledge, rather than
   merely to display objects of the Holocaust, unrelated to the
   historical context of each individual exhibit.
   
   A visit to the museum, or a tour through the virtual exhibition, can
   be an interesting and challenging learning experience but, at the same
   time, it also will be a thought-provoking, disturbing, and personally
   upsetting one. And so it should be.
   
   The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is a free, Federal Museum
   dedicated to presenting the history of the persecution and murder of
   six million Jews and millions of other victims of Nazi tyrrany from
   1933-1945. To accomodate large numbers of visitors expected by the
   museum, and to ensure a meaningful experience for every one, the
   museum is open on a time-ticket basis, which means that a ticket is
   required for admission, and that tickets are marked with a specific
   time and day in order to regulate the number of people passing through
   the exhibits at any given time.
   
   Tickets may be obtained in one of three ways: you can visit or call
   Ticketmaster at 1-800-432-SEAT and purchase tickets for a specified
   date and time using a credit card. Currently, there is a $3.50 phone
   charge and a $1.00 per ticket handling fee. Tickets to the museum are
   free, except for the handling charges which go directly to
   Ticketmaster. A second method of obtaining tickets is to go directly
   to the walk-up window and request them. Demand is heavy, and only a
   portion of each day's tickets are set aside for walk-up business. The
   last, and most difficult, method of obtaining tickets is to call your
   elected representative and request assistance in finding tickets. The
   Museum is not part of the Smithsonian system, and therefore some
   Congressmen do not bother to request complimentary tickets from the
   museum. Some do.
   
   The Museum is open from 10:00-5:30 daily, except for Christmas (go
   figure!) and certain Jewish holidays (to be determined). The telephone
   number is (202) 488-0400. Their [5]home page is available at
   [6]http://www.ushmm.org/
   .