The horrors of the Holocaust—the mass killing of Jews and others by Nazi Germany during World War II—changed the world. Many survivors and political leaders felt it was important that the tragic events and the victims were never forgotten. In the late 1970s, U.S. government leaders began planning for a memorial to the millions of people who were murdered. Finally in 1993, their dream was realized, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum opened. Today, the museum serves as both an honor to those who were lost and an education center to people of all ages.