Program Description
Event Details
This exhibition raises challenging and important questions about this critical moment in American history. The introduction to the traveling exhibition reads: "What did Americans know? What more could have been done?”
Holocaust history raises important questions about what the international community, including the United States, could have done to stop the rise of Nazism in Germany and its assault on Europe’s Jewish population.
By the time Nazi Germany forced the world into war, democratic civilization itself was at stake. The US military fought for almost four years to defend democracy, and more than 400,000 Americans died. American soldiers and civilians alike made enormous sacrifices to free Europe from Nazi oppression. Yet saving the Jewish population and others targeted for murder by the Nazi regime and its collaborators never became a priority.
The United States alone could not have prevented the Holocaust, but more could have been done to save some of the six million Jewish citizens who were killed. This exhibition examines the motives, pressures, and fears that shaped Americans’ responses to Nazism, war, and genocide.
Founding Museum Chairman Elie Wiesel said, “There are no answers. And this Museum is not an answer; it is a question mark.” This idea has guided our thinking about this topic. We strive to provoke new inquiry and reflection among our visitors, both about history and about our roles and responsibilities today. The following questions, explored in the traveling exhibition, may be useful in framing your programs:
What did Americans know?
Did Americans help Jewish refugees?
Why did Americans go to war?
How did Americans respond to the Holocaust?
Americans and the Holocaust: A Traveling Exhibition for Libraries is made possible by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association.
Americans and the Holocaust was made possible by the generous support of lead sponsors Jeannie & Jonathan Lavine. Additional major funding was provided by the Bildners — Joan & Allen z”l, Elisa Spungen & Rob, Nancy & Jim; and Jane and Daniel Och. The Museum's exhibitions are also supported by the Lester Robbins and Sheila Johnson Robbins Traveling and Special Exhibitions Fund, established in 1990.
If you have questions or would like to schedule a school or group tour please e-mail jamie.v@baxlib.org.
If you attended a guided tour or a program hosted in conjunction with the Americans and the Holocaust exhibition, please fill out this short program survey: Program Survey Form