National Holocaust Centre and Museum

The National Holocaust Centre and Museum stands on a quiet lane in Laxton, Nottinghamshire. It occupies an old farmhouse and a modern extension that houses a lecture theatre, classrooms and a permanent exhibition. The site includes a Memorial Garden with a black stone listing the names of every Nazi death camp. Artefacts such as the suitcase of transatlantic survivor Joan Salter are displayed inside. The centre also hosts the Aegis Trust, a group that campaigns against genocide worldwide. The centre opened in 1995 as the first British venue devoted solely to Holocaust education. Its founders, brothers James and Stephen Smith, were inspired by a visit to Yad Vashem in 1991. A lottery grant of nearly half a million pounds helped create the children’s exhibit. Prince Harry visited after wearing a Nazi costume at a party in 2005. In 2010 the three founders received honorary degrees from Nottingham Trent University. Visitors walk from the farmhouse into a purpose-built gallery where displays tell the stories of young Holocaust victims. The lecture theatre hosts talks and survivor testimonies. Outside, the garden offers a place of quiet reflection beside the inscribed stone. The whole site is designed to teach and remember without distraction.