Americans and the Holocaust traveling exhibition coming to Cody Library
[Cody, April 29, 2025] — Park County Library’s Cody branch is one of 50 U.S. libraries newly selected to host Americans and the Holocaust, a traveling exhibition from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association (ALA) that examines the motives, pressures and fears that shaped Americans’ responses to Nazism, war and genocide in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s.
Following a highly successful tour to 50 libraries from 2021 to 2023, the touring library exhibition—based on the special exhibition of the same name at the Museum in Washington, D.C.—will travel to an additional 50 U.S. libraries from 2024 to 2026, covering wide distances from Hawaii and Alaska to Texas and New Hampshire.
Americans and the Holocaust will be on display at the Cody Library, along with a series of related special events, from May 21 to July 1, 2025.
The 1,100-square-foot exhibition examines various aspects of American society: the government, the military, refugee aid organizations, the media and the general public. Drawing on a remarkable collection of primary sources from the 1930s and ’40s, the exhibition tells the stories of Americans who acted in response to Nazism, challenging the commonly held assumptions that Americans knew little and did nothing about the Nazi persecution and murder of Jews as the Holocaust unfolded. It provides a portrait of American society that shows how the Depression, isolationism, xenophobia, racism and antisemitism shaped responses to Nazism and the Holocaust.
In addition to the traveling exhibition on loan, Cody Library received a $3,000 cash grant to support public programs. The grant also covered one library staff member’s attendance at an orientation workshop at the Museum.
A variety of programs will accompany the exhibit at the Cody Library:
- Teacher Night: May 21, 2025, 5:30 p.m. – A special event for Wyoming educators with staff from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, in partnership with Heart Mountain Interpretive Center.
- Opening Reception with Hayley Prihoda: May 22, 2025, 6:00 p.m. – Prihoda, Program Coordinator at USHMM, will offer opening remarks. Light refreshments served.
- Parallel Barbed Wire with Aura Sunada Newlin: May 29, 2025, 6:00 p.m. – The story of two men—one Japanese American, one Jewish—whose lives intersected during WWII.
- Panic, Propaganda, and Prejudice with Cally Steussy: June 3, 2025, 6:00 p.m. – A look at anti-Semitic and anti-Asian propaganda in the early 20th century.
- Film Screening of Woman in Gold: June 10, 2025, 7:00 p.m. at Big Horn Cinemas – Followed by discussion with Rabbi Moshe Halfon and Warren Murphy.
- We Fought Back: Stories and Songs of Resistance with Rabbi Moshe Halfon: June 11, 2025, 6:00 p.m. – Reflections on spiritual and physical resistance during the Holocaust.
- Witness to History with Sam Mihara: June 13, 2025, 6:00 p.m. – A first-hand account from a survivor of the Japanese American incarceration camps.
- Avoiding Hate: Stories from Wyoming’s History with Warren Murphy: June 16, 2025, 6:00 p.m. – Explores Wyoming’s history of interfaith cooperation and the dangers of hate, with insights from Murphy’s book.
- Dry Timber: Antisemitism before 1933 with Kylie McCormick: June 19, 2025, 6:00 p.m. – workshop on the historical roots of antisemitism and anti-Judaism, with personal reflections from the presenter.
- The True Story of an American Couple’s Rescue Mission in Nazi Germany with Steven Pressman: June 24, 2025, 6:00 p.m. – Author tells true story of Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus, who rescued fifty Jewish children from Nazi-controlled Vienna and Berlin in 1939.
- Political Rhetoric and the Human/Constitutional Rights Abuses Committed Against Japanese Americans During Their Incarceration Throughout World War II with Carter Reed: June 26, 2025, 6:00 p.m. – Cody native and legal scholar examines the rhetoric and rights abuses behind Japanese American incarceration during WWII.
For more information about Americans and the Holocaust and related programming at Cody Library, Park County Library System – Libraries are Great!. To learn more about the exhibition, visit ushmm.org/americans-ala.
Americans and the Holocaust: A Traveling Exhibition for Libraries is an educational initiative of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association. The traveling exhibition began by touring to 50 U.S. libraries from 2021 to 2023; due to widespread interest from libraries and communities around the country, a second tour was developed for 2024 to 2026.
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.
Additional programming support was made possible, in part, by Friends of the Cody Library, Park County Library Foundation, Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, Wyoming Humanities, and Big Horn Cinemas.
ABOUT THE UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM
A nonpartisan, federal educational institution, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is America’s national memorial to the victims of the Holocaust dedicated to ensuring the permanence of Holocaust memory, understanding and relevance. Through the power of Holocaust history, the Museum challenges leaders and individuals worldwide to think critically about their role in society and to confront antisemitism and other forms of hate, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity. For more information, visit ushmm.org.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
The American Library Association (ALA) is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, the ALA has been the trusted voice for academic, public, school, government and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library’s role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit ala.org.
[Press Release]