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Americans and the Holocaust

Rebecca Erbelding Curator Talk

Rebecca Erbelding, historian and curator at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, discusses her work on the Americans and the Holocaust exhibit and how the U.S. responded during World War II.

Rebecca Erbelding, historian and curator at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, discusses her work on the Americans and the Holocaust exhibit and how the U.S. responded during World War II.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Rebecca Erbelding has been a historian, curator, and archivist at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum for the past 22 years and served as the lead historian on the Museum's special exhibition, Americans and the Holocaust. She holds a PhD in American History from George Mason University. Her first book, Rescue Board: The Untold Story of America's Efforts to Save the Jews of Europe (Doubleday, 2018), won the National Jewish Book Award for excellence in writing based on archival research. She and her work are featured in the 2022 PBS documentary “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” directed by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstein, a film for which she served as a historical advisor. She is currently writing Shelter on the Lake: 982 Holocaust Refugees and an American Small Town on the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter (1944-1946), which will be published by Simon and Schuster in 2027.

About the Exhibition:

This 1,100-square-foot traveling exhibition is based on the exhibition that opened in April 2018 at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. 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 effect change, and, in a few cases, took significant risks to help victims of Nazism even as rescue never became a government priority. The exhibit hopes to challenge people to not only ask “what would I have done?” but also, “what will I do?”

The Americans and the Holocaust traveling exhibition is on display at the Columbus Metropolitan Library Main Library, located at 96 S. Grant Ave., from February 5 – March 19, 2026.

This program is presented in partnership with the Columbus Metropolitan Library.

This program was made possible, in part, with support from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association.

Library Parking & Entrance Information:

While the library's main entrance is under construction, we remain open. Clear signage will guide visitors to a temporary, fully accessible entrance via a ramp in the southeast alley, leading to the dock entrance.

The library parking lot also remains open, with temporary entry and exit available via Euclaire Avenue only. Parking may be limited, so we encourage you to arrive early and use street parking on Euclaire, Mound, and other nearby streets.

For more information about the Outdoor Reading Room project, visit www.BexleyLibrary.org/ORR.

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