Winter Park Library to host Americans and the Holocaust traveling exhibition
For over a month, the Winter Park Library – one of 50 libraries across the U.S. – will host a traveling exhibition that explores the motives, pressures and fears that molded America's response to Nazism, war and genocide in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s.
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association (ALA) are bringing Americans and the Holocaust, to the Winter Park Library for display from July 28 to Sept. 2.
Developed in collaboration with the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida, the programs are made possible with major support from The Ginsburg Family Foundation and the Central Florida Pledge.
Based on the special exhibition of the same name at the Museum in Washington, D.C. Americans and the Holocaust has been an incredibly successful tour to 50 libraries from 2021 to 2023. In response to the widespread interest among communities across the nation, a second tour is being brought to another 50 U.S. libraries from 2024 to 2026, going from coast to coast and Hawaii and Alaska.
“Hosting Americans and the Holocaust allows us to bring this vital history to our community in a deeply personal and accessible way,” Melissa Schneider, executive director of Winter Park Library, said in a news release. “Through this exhibition and our programs, we hope to inspire reflection and conversations that connect the past to the challenges of today.”
The 1,100-square-foot exhibition gives an up-close look at the different aspects of American society: the government, the military, refugee aid organizations, the media and the general public.
Drawing on a remarkable collection of primary sources from the 1930s and 1940s, the exhibition relays stories of Americans who acted in response to Nazism, defying the often-held claim that Americans knew little and did nothing about the Nazi persecution and murder of Jews as the Holocaust unfolded. The exhibition paints a portrait of American society that depicts how the Depression, isolationism, xenophobia, racism and antisemitism formed responses to Nazism and the Holocaust.
“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 U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum website states. “The exhibit hopes to challenge people to not only ask ‘what would I have done?’ but also, ‘what will I do?’
The library will also mount special events in tandem with the exhibition, giving historical insights, personal testimony and local context. Below are the events, some hosted at the Edyth Bush Center inside the library; others, at the nearby Events Center.
The Winter Park Library is located at 1052 W. Morse Blvd., with the adjacent Events Center at 1050 W. Morse Blvd. To learn more about Americans and the Holocaust and related programming at Winter Park Library, visit winterparklibrary.org/aath.
For more information about Americans and the Holocaust, go to ushmm.org/americans-ala.
Americans and the Holocaust special events
• July 30 – Premiere Event: Voices of Survival | 6 - 7 p.m. | Events Center: Suzanne Schneider reflects on her family’s Holocaust story, a journey marked by loss, endurance, and the hope symbolized by arriving in America.
• August 3 – Uncovering the Past | 2 - 3:30 p.m. | Edyth Bush Theatre: WPL archivist Rachel Simmons and historian Lilly Schorr discuss how local archives and research methods can bring Holocaust history closer to home.
• August 6 – Media and Memory | 6 -7 p.m.| Edyth Bush Theatre: Journalist Eliot Kleinberg explores how news coverage shaped American understanding of the Holocaust.
• August 20 – The Voyage of the St. Louis | 6:30 – 8 p.m. | Events Center: Dr. Diane Afoumado, from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, explores the tragic 1939 journey of the St. Louis refugee ship, including its little-known connection to Florida and its role in shaping global responses to refugees.
• August 24 – Reflecting on Americans and the Holocaust | 2 – 3:30 p.m. | Events Center: WUCF-TV moderates a panel with past speakers exploring how the experiences of one generation becomes the history of future generations.
• August 27 – History’s Lessons | 6 – 8 p.m. | Events Center: Dr. Michael Berenbaum, renowned Holocaust scholar and a key figure in the creation of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, explores how the American response to the Holocaust offers enduring lessons for understanding moral responsibility, civic awareness, and rising intolerance in our world today.
All events require registration and are free and open to the public.