ABSTRACT
I begin this chapter by juxtaposing how two very different genocides have been represented in the United States. I start with the Holocaust, and then turn to the genocide of America’s indigenous populations. Anyone entering the USHMM through Wallenberg Place, located near the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, will be immediately confronted with symbols of American history. On one wall is the Declaration of Independence, followed by the text of a speech delivered by George Washington to the Hebrew congregation in Newport, to whom he assured: ‘the government of the United States . . . gives bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance’. Visitors entering from 14th Street are welcomed by the flags of American army units who helped liberate the death camps. When visitors begin their tour of the Museum, they are treated to the horrified recollections of American servicemen.2
