“The Holocaust: Bearing Witness” exhibit will be at the Johnson City Public Library through Feb. 3. The Holocaust is a 20th century atrocity that resulted in the deaths of 6 million Jews.
“The Holocaust: Bearing Witness” exhibit will be at the Johnson City Public Library through Feb. 3. The Holocaust is a 20th century atrocity that resulted in the deaths of 6 million Jews.
Johnson City Public Library is currently hosting an exhibit about the Holocaust, the 20th century atrocity that resulted in the deaths of 6 million Jews.
“The Holocaust: Bearing Witness” is set on the library’s second floor and runs through Feb. 3. The exhibit is made up of posters that chronicle, through photos and short narratives, how the Holocaust emerged and how its survivors recall the event. The featured survivors all made their homes in Tennessee after the Holocaust.
The exhibit is provided through a partnership between JCPL and the Northeast Tennessee Holocaust Education Council. The posters were produced by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Tennessee Holocaust Commission.
“With this exhibition, we hope to bear witness to an atrocity such that it never occurs again,” said NTHEC organizer Kim Kenneson. “By being aware of how the Holocaust emerged, a citizenry then can know its warning signs, and hopefully prevent it from ever happening again.”
NTHEC is a group of local teachers, professors, librarians and members of the B’nai Sholom congregation. The council’s purpose is to promote Holocaust awareness by providing resources to area schools.
The exhibit at JCPL takes visitors from the beginning of the Nazi Party in 1933 through the liberation of concentration camps in 1945. In line with NTHEC’s guidelines, the images are not graphic; however, they starkly show the antisemitic and prejudiced attitudes toward the Jewish peoples of Europe.
Along with the Holocaust exhibition, JCPL and NTHEC are offering two events in January in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27.
JCPL’s monthly graphic novel club for ages 18 and older will discuss “Maus,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel by Art Spiegelman, on Jan. 26. The group meets from 6-8 p.m. at Mulligan’s Gaming Pub (308 E. Main St., Johnson City). Call JCPL’s Adult Services at 423-434-4454 for more information.
On Jan. 24 from 4-5 p.m., NTHEC will lead an educational session at JCPL. The training is intended for middle and high school teachers, particularly in history and language arts, who teach the Holocaust. The session will provide teachers with a helpful timeline and educational resources from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Teachers can learn more and register for the session on NTHEC’s Facebook page or by emailing northeasttennesseeholocaust@gmail.com.
Visit www.jcpl.org, call 423-434-4450 or drop by 100 W. Millard St. to use the library. Follow Johnson City Public Library on Facebook and Instagram for daily updates.
