The traveling exhibition “Americans and the Holocaust” will open at Quincy University’s Brenner Library on Oct. 29 and remain on display through Dec. 4, 2026.
Jointly created by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association, the 1,100-square-foot traveling exhibition addresses significant Holocaust-related themes in American history and examines multiple viewpoints of American people in the 1930s and 1940s – from Olympic athletes to government officials to Hollywood producers to relatives of people in Germany and Nazi-controlled areas.
“Brenner Library is honored to share the ‘Americans and the Holocaust’ exhibition with the Quincy region,” said Katie Kraushaar, MLIS, dean of Brenner Library. “Lectures, films and interactive presentations are planned to supplement the lessons of the exhibit.” She added that the exhibition helps current generations understand how Americans first learned of and reacted to the Holocaust.
“Through our programming, we are continuing that conversation—what would we have done? How will we remember? How do we ensure these actions do not happen again?” Kraushaar said.
Brenner Library will also highlight local history connections to World War II.
“There are well-known local connections to World War II in this area, from the soldiers and pilots who went to fight, to radios built here to support the D-Day invasion, to Paul Tibbets and the Enola Gay,” said Kraushaar.
The exhibit’s opening keynote presentation at 6 p.m. Oct. 29 will feature speaker Daniel Greene, Ph.D., exhibition curator and adjunct professor of history at Northwestern University. Greene will discuss the domestic conditions in the United States—including economic depression, isolationism and antisemitism—that shaped Americans’ response to atrocities abroad.
In 2018, Greene curated Americans and the Holocaust, which opened at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, to commemorate its twenty-fifth anniversary. The exhibition also inspired The U.S. and the Holocaust, a documentary film directed by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstein that aired on PBS in September 2022. Greene served as an advisor to that film. From 2019 to 2023, Greene was President and Librarian at the Newberry Library in Chicago.
The grant to host the exhibit was secured through a collaboration between Brenner Library, the Quincy University Advancement Department, and university faculty. Kraushaar expressed gratitude to local partner organizations, including Quincy Public Schools, Quincy Notre Dame, the Illinois Veterans Home of Quincy, the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County, and Quincy University’s POLIS program.
More information about “Americans and the Holocaust” is available at https://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/traveling-exhibitions/americans-and-the-holocaust. Also on Quincy University’s website you can find information about the exhibit, hours, educator resources and schedule group tours. Visit: https://www.quincy.edu/aath-exhibit/.
Founded in 1860 by Franciscan friars, Quincy University is a small Catholic university emphasizing the sciences, liberal arts and the professions. Quincy University offers undergraduate, graduate and adult education programs integrating practical experience and Franciscan values. Faculty and advisors work with students to design customized success plans to help them graduate on time, find their passion and prepare them for life. QU is a member of NCAA Division II for intercollegiate athletics. For more information, please visit www.quincy.edu or contact the Office of Community Relations at (217) 228-5275 or [email protected]. Quincy University. Success by Design.