NMSU Library’s Americans and the Holocaust traveling exhibition: Recent updates

Please check back regularly especially as we come closer to our hosting dates, Monday, August 24, 2026 to Friday, September 25, 2026

Published date 05/03/2024

Americans and the Holocaust traveling exhibition coming to New Mexico State University Library

Las Cruces — New Mexico State University Library 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.

“We are thrilled to have been selected to host this important exhibition curated by an esteemed national museum," said NMSU Library Dean Kevin Comerford. “Planning exhibition programming is currently underway, and we aspire to create programming across diverse disciplines and engage with additional community partners.”

Americans and the Holocaust will be on display at New Mexico State University Library, along with a series of related special events, from Monday, August 24, 2026 to Friday, September 25, 2026. Be sure to visit the library’s webpage dedicated to this exhibition for upcoming updates: https://library.nmsu.edu/holocaustexhibition2026.html.

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, New Mexico State University 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.

For more information about Americans and the Holocaust and related programming at New Mexico State University Library, visit https://library.nmsu.edu/holocaustexhibition2026.html where you will find more detailed information as we come closer to our hosting dates. 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, 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.

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