The Apartheid or the abominable system of racial discrimination against black South Africans that lasted for almost 50 years is perhaps one of the most significant periods in the history of mankind. Moreover, Nelson Mandela’s movement against the institution is an even bigger phenomenon of the past. Located in downtown Johannesburg, the Apartheid Museum documents this infamous practice in the realest ways possible, so much so, that white and non-white visitors have separate tickets and entrances. The museum provides you the true experience of what it was like to live in a terribly divided society and be victimised on the basis of your skin colour.

Inaugurated in 2001, the museum complex is owned by Gold Reef Casino and the exhibits include artworks and sculptures by eminent South African artists. Film footages and photographs by celebrated historians and curators also take you through this heart-wrenching journey. The chamber that houses the 131 nooses that represent the members of the resistance, who were executed, is perhaps the most upsetting of them all. Despite the morbidity associated with the displays, the story of South Africa’s ultimate attainment of democracy is very inspiring. The Apartheid Museum is proof of the fact that human spirit always wins over hardship.