Louisiana Tech University is one of 50 U.S. libraries selected to host “Americans and the Holocaust,” a traveling exhibition from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association (ALA) that examines the motives, pressures, and fears that shaped Americans’ responses to Nazism, war, and genocide in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s.
Following a highly successful tour of 50 libraries from 2021 to 2023, the touring library exhibition— based on the special exhibition of the same name at the Museum in Washington, D.C. — is traveling to an additional 50 U.S. libraries through 2026, covering wide distances from Hawaii and Alaska to Texas and New Hampshire.
“We are proud to be selected from a competitive pool of applicants from across the nation to host this important and powerful exhibition,” said Library Executive Director Angela Dunnington. “We encourage community members to come explore it, and we are excited to be partnering with our local schools to host field trips. The exhibition will challenge people to not only ask ‘what would I have done?’ but also, ‘what will I do?’”
“Americans and the Holocaust” will be on display at Prescott Memorial Library, along with a series of related special events, from October 26 to December 3.
The 1,100-square-foot exhibition examines various aspects of American society: the government, the military, refugee aid organizations, the media, and the general public. Drawing on a collection of primary sources from the 1930s and ’40s, the exhibition tells the stories of Americans who acted in response to Nazism, challenging the commonly held assumptions that Americans knew little and did nothing about the Nazi persecution and murder of Jews as the Holocaust unfolded. It provides a portrait of American society that shows how the Depression, isolationism, xenophobia, racism, and antisemitism shaped responses to Nazism and the Holocaust.
In addition to the traveling exhibition on loan, Prescott Memorial Library received a $3,000 cash grant to support public programs.
For more information about “Americans and the Holocaust” and related programming at Prescott Memorial Library, visit https://latech.libguides.com/HolocaustExhibit. To learn more about the exhibition, visit ushmm.org/americans-ala.
“Americans and the Holocaust: A Traveling Exhibition for Libraries” is an educational initiative of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association.
“Americans and the Holocaust” was made possible by the support of lead sponsor Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine. Additional major funding was provided by the Bildners — Joan and Allen z”l, Elisa Spungen and Rob, Nancy and 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.