March 19-April 26: Traveling Exhibition 'Americans and the Holocaust' on Display at Minnesota State Mankato's Memorial Library
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Opening night reception
Mankato, Minn. – Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Memorial Library will host a traveling exhibition, “Americans and the Holocaust,” from March 19-April 26 that examines the motives, pressures and fears that shaped Americans’ responses to Nazism, war and genocide in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association Public Programs Office are presenting the exhibition, which is free and open to the public during Memorial Library business hours.
The exhibit will be located on Memorial Library’s first floor near the Reference Collection. Information on library hours, directions, parking, how to request self-guided tours and more is available online at: https://libguides.mnsu.edu/am-holocaust/home
A schedule of related events, to include an opening night reception, film screenings, speakers and more is available online at: https://libguides.mnsu.edu/am-holocaust/events
Field trip programs are available for students in grades 6-12. Information for schools on signing up for a field trip is available online at: https://libguides.mnsu.edu/am-holocaust/field-trips
Minnesota State Mankato’s Memorial Library is one of 100 libraries across the United States selected to host the exhibition between 2021 and 2026.
The following exhibition summary is from the American Library Association website:
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 affect change, and, in a few cases, took significant risks to help victims of Nazism even as rescue never became a government priority. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and American Library Association Public Programs Office hope to challenge people to not only ask “what would I have done?” but also, “what will I do?”
Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 15,251 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 26 colleges and seven universities.
