ASK ME ABOUT Why you’re hosting the traveling exhibit Auschwitz: Not Long Ago. Not Far Away.
WHAT COMPELLED YOU TO BRING THE AUSCHWITZ EXHIBIT (OPENING OCTOBER 18) TO THE MUSEUM CENTER? It presents a unique opportunity for us to share the critically important stories of Auschwitz and its survivors in a way many people have not or may not get to experience otherwise. Union Terminal itself is a part of that history, both for liberators and survivors who passed under its rotunda. With our partners at the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center, this space is part of the education, healing, and resilience that continues today.
WHAT ARE SOME EXHIBIT HIGHLIGHTS? It features more than 500 original artifacts and 400 photographs from the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and 20 other international museums, making this one of the largest display of artifacts from Auschwitz outside of Europe. Among them are personal items that belonged to Auschwitz survivors and victims, including suitcases, eyeglasses, and shoes. The exhibition also contains concrete posts that formed part of the fence around the Auschwitz camp, fragments of an original prisoner barracks, and items from the world of the perpetrators of these atrocities, including gas masks.
WHAT EFFECT DO YOU HOPE THE EXHIBIT WILL HAVE? The history and story of Auschwitz can feel so dark, so overwhelming, that it doesn’t seem real. This exhibition demystifies Auschwitz in a way that encourages you to bear witness, confront the history of the Holocaust, and connect with the survivors and those who perished there. It helps make the lessons learned in that terrible place very clear so that we can confront the destructive power of hate in our time.