BPL Hosts 'Americans and the Holocaust' Traveling Exhibit

Billings Public Library (BPL) is one of 50 public and university libraries included in the American Library Association's Public Programs Office traveling exhibition, the Americans and the Holocaust. BPL will host the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's 1,100 square-foot traveling exhibition from November 14-December 14, 2022, kicking things off with an Opening Reception on November 14 in BPL's Community Room. 

The reception will open with guest speakers, Gavin Woltjer, Library Director, and Rabbi Uri Barnea at 5:30, followed by a lecture from MSUB historian Dr. Jennifer Lynn at 6pm, with time for questions after. The presentation is free and open to the public. 

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT: 

The Americans and the Holocaust traveling exhibition addresses important themes in American history, including Americans’ responses to refugees, war and genocide in the 1930s and ‘40s. This exhibition will challenge the commonly held assumptions that Americans knew little and did nothing about the Nazi persecution and murder of Jews as the Holocaust unfolded.

Drawing on a remarkable collection of primary sources from the 1930s and ‘40s, the exhibition focuses on the stories of individuals and groups of Americans who took action in response to Nazism. It will challenge visitors to consider the responsibilities and obstacles faced by individuals - from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to ordinary Americans - who made difficult choices, sought to effect change, and, in a few cases, took significant risks to help victims of Nazism even as rescue never became a government priority. The exhibit hopes to challenge people to not only ask “what would I have done?” but also, “what will I do?”

-USHMM.ORG

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