Holocaust in this hall of democracy in the capital of the free world, or for that matter, why is there a Holocaust Museum on the National Mall . The answer lies in the fact that this great country was founded on an idea, one of the most consequential ideas in human history. That ideas represented in this majestic space, and engraved at one entrance of the museum, where visitors encounter the most important words ever written about our national values. They begin, we hold these truths to be selfevident. The declaration of independence was perhaps the very first human rights proclamation, and universal freedom is at the heart of our democracy. This house of the democracy is situated at one end of the long, and at the other end is the lincoln memorial. Midway between is our museum, whose lessons stand as a cautionary tale in stark contrast to the rest of the mall. As one u. S. Senator said shortly after the museum opened, the Washington Monument has never looks quite so beautiful as it do