Traveling Exhibit Coming Soon
July 28 - September 2
Winter Park Library is one of 50 U.S. libraries selected to host Americans and the Holocaust, a traveling exhibition from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum that examines the motives, pressures and fears that shaped Americans’ responses to Nazism, war, and genocide in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s.
Signature Events
Developed in collaboration with The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida, this compelling lineup of classes brings the exhibit’s themes to life through personal testimony, historical insight, and expert analysis. These signature events invite reflection on America’s response to the Holocaust and its relevance today..
Major support for these programs is generously provided by AdventHealth, The Ginsburg Family Foundation, and Central Florida Pledge.
Additional support comes from David and Judy Albertson, Dr. Michael Perelman, and the Zimmerman Family Foundation.
Premiere Event: Voices of Survival
July 30 | 6 - 7 PM
Suzanne Schneider reflects on her family’s Holocaust story — a journey marked by loss, endurance, and the hope symbolized by arriving in America. In this powerful session, audiences will hear firsthand accounts from a Holocaust survivor. This discussion invites thoughtful reflection and deepens our understanding of the Holocaust through personal experience.
Uncovering the Past
August 3 | 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
WPL archivist Rachel Simmons and historian Lilly Schorr discuss how local archives and research methods can bring Holocaust history closer to home. Designed for college freshmen and graduating high school seniors, this program equips students with the tools to investigate history through information resources available at local museums, colleges, and libraries. Learn how to access key research materials and discover how primary source documents can illuminate history through an examination of archival materials that explore local responses to the Holocaust.
Media & Memory
August 6 | 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Journalist Eliot Kleinberg examines how news coverage shaped American understanding of the Holocaust. In an engaging look at media narratives, Kleinberg analyzes the critical role of the press through a historical lens and explores how journalism shaped awareness and public perception of the Holocaust in America.
The Voyage of the St. Louis
August 20 | 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Dr. Diane Afoumado USHMM explores the tragic 1939 journey of the St. Louis —a refugee ship carrying 937 passengers fleeing Nazi Germany, only to be turned away from both Cuban and American shores. Drawing on the captain’s diary, survivor testimonies, and rare archival materials, Dr. Afoumado sheds light on the experiences of Jews on the St. Louis and discusses the ship’s connection to Florida and its role in shaping global responses to refugees.
Reflecting on Americans and the Holocaust
August 24 | 2:00 - 3:30 PM
Local PBS affiliate, WUCF TV, moderates a panel of a few previous speakers and a special guest for our lecture series for Americans and the Holocaust for a collective conversation between survivor and historians to facilitate a better understanding of how the experiences of one generation becomes the history of future generations.
History's Lessons
August 27 | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Dr. Michael Berenbaum, renowned Holocaust scholar and a key figure in the creation of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, delivers a profound examination of the American response to the Holocaust and the enduring lessons it holds for today. Dr. Berenbaum reflects on how the Holocaust informs our understanding of moral responsibility, civic awareness, and rising intolerance in our modern world. This program challenges audiences to reflect on the past and confront the choices that shape our future.
What Did Americans Know?
Based on extensive new research of that period, Americans and the Holocaust addresses important themes in American history, exploring the many factors — including the Great Depression, isolationism, xenophobia, racism and antisemitism — that influenced decisions made by the U.S. government, the news media, organizations and individuals as they responded to Nazism.
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.
What More Could Have Been Done?
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 effect change, and, in a few cases, took significant risks to help victims of Nazism even as rescue never became a government priority.
Americans and the Holocaust: A Traveling Exhibition for Libraries is made possible by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association. This traveling exhibition for libraries is based on the original exhibition which opened in April 2018 at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., during the Museum's 25th anniversary. Americans and the Holocaust was made possible by the generous support of lead sponsor Jeannie & Jonathan Lavine. Additional major funding was provided by the Bildners — Joan & Allen z”l, Elisa Spungen & Rob, Nancy & 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.