Holocaust exhibit at UNK examines American choices during WWII

By Peter Rice

KEARNEY, Neb. — A traveling exhibit now on display at the University of Nebraska at Kearney is asking visitors to confront a powerful question: What would I have done?

“Americans and the Holocaust,” from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, is on exhibit inside UNK’s Calvin T. Ryan Library, making UNK the only location in Nebraska selected to host the national exhibit.

UNK was one of just 50 sites across the country chosen through a competitive grant process, according to UNK Archivist and Digital Repository Manager Laurinda Weisse, who helped bring the exhibit to campus.

The 1,100-square-foot exhibit uses photographs, film footage, historical documents, and personal stories to examine how Americans responded to the rise of Nazism, war and genocide during the 1930s and 1940s.

Weisse says the exhibit focuses on what Americans knew at the time, how public opinion shaped debate, and how those attitudes influenced actions, and inactions, related to Jewish refugees and the United States’ involvement in World War II.

The exhibit also places those decisions in a broader historical context, including Japanese American internment and the role of figures such as Olympic athlete Jesse Owens.

With the number of living Holocaust survivors continuing to decline, Weisse says preserving these stories is increasingly urgent.

She says experiences like this allow visitors to hear voices from the era and reflect on the consequences of public sentiment, political debate, and moral choice.

UNK and community partners are hosting several free programs alongside the exhibit, including film screenings, panel discussions, and a symposium.

“Americans and the Holocaust” runs through March 19 at UNK’s Calvin T. Ryan Library.

All exhibit-related events are free and open to the public.