In honor of Holocaust Days of Remembrance

In honor of next week's commemoration of the Holocaust, we are returning to an episode with Leo Melamed, who fled Nazi-occupied Poland as a child. He speaks about why he, as a survivor, feels that preventing and responding to genocide today is a critical part of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's mandate.

Rwanda’s Genocide: 15 Years Later

April 7, 2009 marked the 15th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. Joined by an international audience, Rwandans across the country gathered to commemorate the deaths of at least 500,000 people over 100 days in 1994. President Paul Kagame spoke about the need to remember, but also of the future he is trying to build for the country: “This is the constant underlying message: that while we must remember the past, history, events, and facts – we must also remember to shape our future.”

Rwanda’s progress over the last fifteen years has been marked by these two poles: the memory of unimaginable violence, and the imperative to focus on the future and on building a strong, self-sufficient country. The effort to recover from the genocide has included far-reaching justice reforms and innovative legal processes for cases related to the genocide. Resilient survivors have created networks across the country, and the government has focused on educational reform, strengthening the health system, and securing economic advances. These remarkable achievements have transformed the country.

To advance social and economic goals, the Rwandan government has opted to prioritize security and stability over freedom of expression and political organization. After the experience of the genocide, it is a bargain that the population seems ready to embrace for now. While reconciliation is difficult to measure, Rwandans are certainly providing a remarkable example of coexistence in the aftermath of genocide, as survivors, bystanders and perpetrators find ways to live together and move forward as a country.

Visit World Is Witness to read a first-hand account of the commemoration ceremonies from Museum staff in attendance.

A people’s view of peace in Burundi

After 12 years of civil war marked by atrocities against civilians, what does peace mean for the people of Burundi? Peter Uvin, author of Life After Violence: A People's Story of Burundi, discusses what Burundians across the country told him about their hopes for the future and their views of each other and the state.

An international justice skeptic

Adam Smith, who comes from a family of Holocaust survivors and trained as an international lawyer, discusses his book After Genocide: Bringing the Devil to Justice. The book is critical of the current system of international justice.

Wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity

On March 4, 2009, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar El-Bashir. Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, formerly a judge and president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, discusses the significance of the ICC’s decision.