University of Hawaii at West Oahu hosts Holocaust exhibit

The James & Abigail Campbell Library at the University of Hawaii at West Oahu 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 opens today and runs through March 9.

The exhibit “examines the motives, pressures and fears that shaped Americans’ responses to Nazism, war and genocide in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s,” according to a news release. Hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Fridays and by appointment from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.

A partnership with the Hawaii State Public Library system will assist in promoting the exhibit to public schools across the islands.

Based on extensive new research of that period, “Americans and the Holocaust” explores the many factors, such as 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,” the release said. “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.”

For more information on the exhibit and related programs, and for visitation details and appointments, visit americansandtheholocaust-hi.weebly.com. To learn more about the exhibition, visit ushmm.org/americans-ala.