The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC houses exhibits on the Holocaust, the systematic effort of the Nazis between 1933 and 1945 to exterminate the Jews of Europe and members of other groups the Nazis considered “undesirable.” The museum also runs a variety of education programs and is a center for Holocaust scholarship. The bill creating the museum was approved by Congress unanimously in 1980, and the museum opened in 1993. The money to build the museum was provided exclusively through private donations, but the federal government pays for the museum’s operational expenses. The museum draws far more visitors than originally anticipated and since the museum’s opening, several states and cities have opened their own Holocaust museums and memorials. Congress’ decision to charter the museum was in some ways a break with past practices as the museum does not focus on an event in American history although its exhibits do deal with the US reaction to the Holocaust and its aftermath.