From its beginning in 1933, Nazi Germany placed severe legal, political, and civic restrictions against institutions it saw as hostile to or inconsistent with its aims and ideals. Along with Jews, members of the LGBTQ+ community, those with mental and physical handicaps, Catholics, and Jehovah’s Witnesses, Freemasons were likewise targeted for criminal prosecution and exclusion from society.

In Washington, D.C., close to the Washington Monument, the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, the Smithsonian Institution’s museums, and the memorials to those who risked their lives and/or died safeguarding American freedoms and liberties while serving in this country’s Armed Forces, there is a memorial and museum whose core values are similarly American and democratic.

The Holy Bible holds significant importance to many Freemasons because it is considered one of the Great Lights in Freemasonry. The Great Lights refer to the symbolic treasures of knowledge and wisdom that guide Masonic beliefs and practices.

Public fascination about the Society of Freemasons has increased since the organization became the subject of several recently published novels. A sense of the mysterious surrounds the fraternity. However, many myths about Masonic activities and rituals are founded on rumor and suspicion alone.