Also outside is this sculpture, which appears to show a shattered swastika.
The exhibit itself runs chronologically, from the rise of the Nazi regime in the early 1930s through to the establishment of modern international criminal law post-1945. It's an extremely draining experience, some of the human cruelty documented there is unfathomable. I needed a good cup of tea afterwards, and thankfully there's a relatively decent cafe just next door.
I spent most of the morning and into early afternoon there, so afterwards I was looking for a quick and easy attraction. I went to the Smithsonian Castle, which essentially serves as the information centre for all the numerous Smithsonian Museums. It has an impressive garden at the front.
After that, I also had a quick look through the Sackler and Freer galleries, which house the Smithsonian's collection of Asian art and artefacts. This one was particularly disturbing.
The next day, I was back on the Smithsonian circuit, stopping at the National Museum of American History. Their flagship (pardon the pun) exhibit is the original American flag which flew over Fort McHenry when the British attacked, and inspired Francis Scott Key to write 'The Star-Spangled Banner'. No photos of the actual flag are allowed, but this is the Wikipedia picture to give you the idea.
On the same floor is a very eclectic mix of Americana-themed exhibits. Like, for example, the Little Golden Books exhibit. It really took me back to my childhood, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.
There was also this 'Whites Only' counter from North Carolina, where a group of African American students dared to sit in 1960, sparking protests which lasted for months.
They also had a pair of Judy Garland's red slippers which she wore as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz; one of the original Kermit the Frog puppets, and a vintage Apple II.
Also on the technology front was the first substantial sample of enriched uranium (was a bit worried about what effect that might have on various parts of my anatomy, so didn't hang around long there lol), Jonas Salk's polio vaccine, the video camera used to capture the only known footage of the aeroplane striking the North tower on 9/11, and that old relic, the Walkman. Music nerds should note the cassette chosen for display with the Walkman - Pretty Hate Machine, by Nine Inch Nails. A somewhat odd choice for a family-friendly museum, I would have thought.
There was also a big section on America at War, chronicling everything from the War of Independence to the War on Terror. There were some hilarious WWII propaganda posters, like this:
There were also some other seriously interesting items, like a genuine Purple Heart, and a telegram sent to all ships in the Hawaiian region on December 7, 1941 - it simply says "Airraid on Pearl Harbor. This is no drill."
Then there was a pretty awesome exhibit on the Presidents. Some of the exhibits were iconic, like this photo of Lyndon B. Johnson taking the Oath of Office on Air Force One after JFK's assassination as Jackie Kennedy looks on, or Michelle Obama's inauguration gown from 2009.
Most of the items, however, ranged from kitsch to hilarious. In no particular order, we have one of the filing cabinets that was broken into in the Watergate Complex, Warren G. Harding's pyjamas, Bill Clinton's saxophone, Harry Truman in the White House bowling alley, Chelsea Clinton's ballet slippers, and a Clinton-era nuclear football - the briefcase that accompanies the President everywhere and contains the nuclear launch codes.
There was also this little display designed to emphasise just how much America reveres its Presidents (even the bad ones).
Downstairs was, among other things, a mock-up of Julia Child's kitchen, and an Emmy award which she won for her cooking show.
I then went looking for the National Portrait Gallery, which is a bit of a hike from the main Smithsonian strip, but on the way I passed Ford's Theatre. This is the place where John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln; he fled across the street and Lincoln died the next morning. You can take a tour, but surprisingly it is still a working theatre as well. Also, here's a bit of irrelevant trivia - Lincoln was shot in Ford's Theatre; decades later, JFK was shot while riding in a Ford car. Creepy, eh?
I finally arrived at the National Portrait Gallery, which was quite impressive. There are plenty of notable Americans highlighted on the ground floor, like the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the lightbulb Thomas Edison, and one Samuel Clemens, better known as the author Mark Twain.
But of course the highlight is the President's Gallery, the only collection outside the White House which contains portraits of all the US Presidents (with one notable exclusion - the incumbent Barack Obama, but one can only assume they're still working on that). I thought the most original by far was Bill Clinton, but I also gave props to the 80s-influenced portrait of Jimmy Carter, and a romanticised take on Richard Nixon.
Upstairs is an eclectic mix of more modern Americans, seemingly selected with no rhyme or reason. For example, we can observe F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry Kissinger, Michael Jackson, Bill and Melinda Gates, and, er, LL Cool J all chillin' together.
Funnily enough, for a portrait gallery, this is the place you need to visit if you were wondering where Katharine Hepburn's four Best Actress Oscars ended up.
And finally, Sunday was Arlington day. Arlington National Cemetery is actually in Virginia, but the Metro runs seamlessly the whole way - it's not very far out of DC at all. It's mainly a military cemetery, but there are a few notable dignitaries who ended up there as well. The major attraction (is that a morbid way to describe somebody's grave?) is the Kennedy family memorial. Up on the hill side, John & Jackie are buried with two short-lived young children and the eternal flame.
Just around the corner, in an extremely plain grave, is Bobby Kennedy; a little further around (and in similar fashion) is Senator Ted Kennedy.
Other notable sights include the Pentagon (you might be able to see it in the distance in this photo); the grave of noteworthy American judge Oliver Wendell Holmes, the grave of former President William Howard Taft and the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Finally, there is also a little ring of memorials devoted to the crews of the two destroyed space shuttles (first Challenger, and later Columbia) and the Americans who were killed in an attempt to rescue Iranian hostages in 1980.
