Dubai’s Crossroads Museum Launches Permanent Holocaust Exhibition Emphasizing Interfaith Understanding

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — In a historic house along Dubai Creek, a modest gallery commemorates the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust and is displayed alongside exhibitions on Islamic civilization, Emirati heritage, and the history of Palestine and the Holy Land.

The Holocaust exhibition at the privately owned Crossroads of Civilizations Museum represents one of the first permanent displays of its kind in the Arab world. Opened in May 2021, just months after the UAE normalized relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords, it stands as a symbol of the nation’s policy of religious coexistence.

During a recent visit, Fox News Digital observed exhibits documenting Nazi persecution, including a life‑size reproduction of the iconic Warsaw Ghetto photograph showing a boy with his hands raised in surrender.

The gallery also recounts the stories of Muslims who rescued Jews during the Holocaust, such as Egyptian physician Mohammed Helmy, who sheltered Jews from Nazi persecution in Berlin.

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An image of a young Jewish boy with his hands raised as armed German soldiers round up civilians in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1943, displayed at the Holocaust gallery of the Crossroads of Civilizations Museum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The photograph has become one of the most recognizable images of the Holocaust. (Efrat Lachter/Fox News Digital)

But the narrative behind the exhibition is as personal as the artifacts it preserves.

In an exclusive interview, museum founder Ahmed Obaid Al Mansoori, a former member of the UAE Federal National Council, said his passion for collecting historical artifacts began in childhood when he inherited family manuscripts and objects from his grandparents.

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A sign marking the Multifaith Gallery at the Crossroads of Civilizations Museum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where exhibits explore the shared history and heritage of different religious communities. (Efrat Lachter/Fox News Digital)

He began collecting systematically in 1989, eventually establishing a private museum in his home in 2006. Dubai authorities later provided a historic building to house his expanding collection, which opened to the public in 2014.

The Holocaust gallery was added later.

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Ahmed Obaid Al Mansoori (right), founder of Dubai’s Crossroads of Civilizations Museum, pictured with a rabbi. Al Mansoori established one of the Arab world’s first permanent Holocaust memorial exhibitions, promoting interfaith understanding and coexistence. (Fox News Digital)

Al Mansoori said two experiences inspired him. The first was a visit to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington in the 1990s, which deeply moved him with the message that the Holocaust was a tragedy with lessons for all humanity.

The second was a conversation with an American Jewish acquaintance who voiced concern about rising antisemitism in the United States. At first, he dismissed her concerns, but after seeing antisemitic imagery during a wave of unrest, he reconsidered. ‘I realized I was wrong,’ he said.

He enlisted Jewish friends and colleagues to organize a Holocaust remembrance event in Dubai in 2021.

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A shofar, a traditional Jewish ceremonial horn, on display at the Crossroads of Civilizations Museum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The instrument is sounded during Jewish religious observances, including Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. (Efrat Lachter/Fox News Digital)

He said, ‘The beauty of this Holocaust gallery was created by Arabs, Jews, and Christians,’ describing the international team that helped develop the exhibition.

What began as a commemorative initiative grew into something far larger.

At its opening, Al Mansoori recalled being struck by the positive response from visitors, including residents of the UAE and others in the region. Although he faced criticism, he concluded that the gallery should remain a permanent part of the museum.

‘I thought it was very beautiful and very important, and it must stay,’ he recalled.

The exhibition officially opened on May 26, 2021, with attendance from the Israeli and German ambassadors to the UAE, according to The National.

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An ancient manuscript on display at the Crossroads of Civilizations Museum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The museum’s collections highlight the region’s rich cultural and religious heritage. (Efrat Lachter/Fox News Digital)

Yet Al Mansoori’s vision extends beyond Holocaust remembrance.

In another section of the museum, historical maps of Palestine are displayed alongside Jewish manuscripts, photographs, and documents that illustrate the region’s overlapping histories.

‘You have maps from the Israeli perspective and maps from the Palestinian perspective,’ he said, explaining that he deliberately places different historical narratives in the same space.

He recalled a visit by rabbis in August 2020, during which Muslim, Jewish, and Christian guests prayed together at the museum, each observing their own traditions.

For Al Mansoori, the purpose is not to erase religious or political differences but to enable people to respect one another despite those differences.

‘It’s about learning to feel comfortable being yourself next to others, and for others to feel comfortable being next to you,’ he said.

A timeline of World War II and historical documents detailing the Holocaust are displayed at the Crossroads of Civilizations Museum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The exhibition commemorates the six million Jews murdered by Nazi Germany and its collaborators. (Efrat Lachter/Fox News Digital)

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