Vincennes University’s Shake Learning Resource Center is set to host an interactive traveling exhibit about the Holocaust in March.
“Americans and the Holocaust” will debut on March 17 and run through April 28. The exhibit offers a “thought-provoking look and explores the
motives, pressures, and fears that shaped Americans’ responses to Nazism, war, and genocide in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s,” according to a press release sent by library officials.
Shake LRC collaborated with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association (ALA) to bring the traveling
exhibition to Vincennes.
“Most students have a general understanding of the history of the Holocaust,” said Public Services Librarian, Jamie Cox. “This exhibit will offer a perspective that some may have never considered, one that focuses on Americans during this time.”
Students will be able to reflect on several questions posed by the exhibit, such as: What did Americans know? Did Americans help Jewish refugees? Why did Americans go to war? How did Americans respond to the Holocaust?
“The Shake Library is honored to host this exhibit at VU,” said VU Director of Library Services Charla Gilbert. “Together we hope to foster important dialogue, deepen understanding, and honor the memory of those impacted by this tragic period in history.”
The exhibit will be accompanied by a handful of events to help students better engage with the exhibit as well as a butterfly display to honor the lives lost.
The Butterfly Project invites students, staff, faculty, and local residents to create butterflies in various forms of media, including paper, ceramics, photography, and digital art, which will be displayed throughout campus.
Library officials encourage people to take a look at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s database of over 600 ID cards to get inspiration from those who experienced the Holocaust.
The Butterfly Project is inspired by the Holocaust Museum in Houston to honor the 1.5 million Jewish children who lost their lives in the Holocaust.
For additional information, to submit photos or digital files of butterflies, or to schedule a time to drop them off at the Shake LRC, contact Tiarra Basham
at [email protected].
Leading up to the opening of the exhibit, the university honored International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27 with a showing of the film, “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” in the Jefferson Student Union.
The Holocaust exhibit will be open during the Shake Library’s operating hours which are available at vinu.libguides.com/shakelibrary.
Additionally, 25-minute guided tours are available, but signing up in advance is required at vinu.libcal.com/space/168652.
For more information on the “Americans and the Holocaust” exhibit or its long list of accompanying events, visit https://vinu.libguides.com/USHolocaustExhibit/Events.
