Americans and the Holocaust traveling exhibition coming to Cody Library
- mmartin411
- Apr 24
- 5 min read
The Park County Library in Cody 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 through 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, the Park County 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.
Public Program Timeline:
Teacher Night
Date & Time: May 21, 2025, 5:30 p.m.
Location: Grizzly Hall
Description: Free evening event for Wyoming educators with staff from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), in partnership with Park County Library and Heart Mountain Interpretive Center.
Sponsors/Partners: Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, Friends of the Cody Library, Park County Library Foundation
Opening Reception – Speaker: Hayley Prihoda
Date & Time: May 22, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
Location: Grizzly Hall
Description: Hayley Prihoda, Program Coordinator at USHMM, will provide opening remarks and introduce the exhibit. Refreshments will be served.
Sponsors/Partners: Friends of the Cody Library, Park County Library Foundation
Parallel Barbed Wire – Speaker: Aura Sunada Newlin
Date & Time: May 29, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
Location: Grizzly Hall
Description: The stories of Clarence Matsumura and Solly Ganor—two men from opposite sides of WWII whose paths crossed in a moment of liberation. Presented by Aura Newlin, Executive Director, Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation.Sponsors/Partners: Friends of the Cody Library, Park County Library Foundation, Heart Mountain Interpretive Center
Panic, Propaganda, and Prejudice – Speaker: Cally Steussy
Date & Time: June 3, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
Location: Grizzly Hall
Description: Exploring anti-Semitic and anti-Asian propaganda in the early 1900s, how propaganda works, and how to resist its influence.
Sponsors/Partners: Friends of the Cody Library, Park County Library Foundation, Heart Mountain Interpretive Center
Film Screening: Woman in Gold
Date & Time: June 10, 2025, 7:00 p.m.
Location: Big Horn Cinemas, 2525 Big Horn Avenue
Description: Screening of Woman in Gold followed by a discussion with Rabbi Moshe Halfon and Warren Murphy.
Sponsors/Partners: Big Horn Cinemas, Friends of the Cody Library, Park County Library Foundation
We Fought Back: Stories and Songs of Resistance – Speaker: Rabbi Moshe Halfon
Date & Time: June 11, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
Location: Grizzly Hall
Description: Stories of spiritual and physical resistance during the Holocaust, plus songs from the Jewish Partisan movement.
Sponsor: Wyoming Humanities
Witness to History – Speaker: Sam Mihara
Date & Time: June 13, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
Location: Grizzly Hall
Description: Sam Mihara shares his personal story of being incarcerated as a Japanese American child during WWII.
Sponsor: American Library Association (ALA)
Avoiding Hate: Stories from Wyoming’s History – Speaker: Warren Murphy
Date & Time: June 16, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
Location: Grizzly Hall
Description: Explores Wyoming’s history of interfaith cooperation and the dangers of hate, with insights from Murphy’s book On Sacred Ground.
Sponsors/Partners: Friends of the Cody Library, Park County Library Foundation
Dry Timber: Antisemitism before 1933 – Speaker: Kylie McCormick
Date & Time: June 19, 2025, 6:00 p.m.
Location: Grizzly Hall
Description: A workshop on the historical roots of antisemitism and anti-Judaism, with personal reflections from the presenter.
Sponsors/Partners: Friends of the Cody Library, Park County Library Foundation
The True Story of an American Couple’s Rescue Mission in Nazi Germany – Speaker: Steven Pressman
Date and Time: Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at 6:00 p.m.
Location: Grizzly Hall
Description: Steven Pressman shares the remarkable true story of Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus, who traveled to Nazi-controlled Vienna and Berlin in 1939 to rescue fifty Jewish children. Their heroic efforts are documented in Pressman’s Emmy-nominated HBO film 50 Children and his acclaimed book 50 Children: One Ordinary American Couple’s Extraordinary Rescue Mission into the Heart of Nazi Germany. A Q&A with the author will follow the program.
Sponsors/Partners: Friends of the Cody Library, Park County Library Foundation
Political Rhetoric and the Human/Constitutional Rights Abuses Committed Against Japanese Americans During Their Incarceration Throughout World War II – Speaker: Carter Reed
Date and Time: Thursday, June 26, 2025, at 6:00 p.m.
Location: Grizzly Hall
Description: Cody native and legal scholar Carter Reed explores the political rhetoric and constitutional rights abuses faced by Japanese Americans during their incarceration in World War II. Reed, a law professor at the University of Kansas, brings insight from both his academic research and his personal connection to the region.
Sponsors/Partners: Friends of the Cody Library, Park County Library Foundation
For more information about Americans and the Holocaust and related programming at the Park County Library, contact us directly at cody@parkcountylibrary.org. 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.
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.
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