CMC to host largest Auschwitz exhibit in North America

By Cody Hefner, Cincinnati Museum Center
and Kara Driscoll, Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center 

As the world commemorates the 80^th anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz – one of the most infamous sites of the Holocaust – Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) and the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center (HHC) announced they will host the most comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the history of Auschwitz ever presented in North America. Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away will open at Union Terminal on Oct. 18.

The exhibition highlights the profound humanity of those who perished, offering a poignant and sobering glimpse into the devastating realities of Auschwitz and the enduring significance of its history. The exhibition, featuring more than 500 original objects from Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and more than 20 other international museums, traces the rise of Nazi ideology and the transformation of Auschwitz from an ordinary Polish town known as Oświęcim into a place where unimaginable atrocities and extraordinary human resilience intersected.

Elizabeth Pierce, president and CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center, said, “In Cincinnati, we have an important and specific opportunity to share the history of Auschwitz and its survivors.

“Union Terminal is part of this history, both for liberators and for survivors. With our partners at the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center, Union Terminal is part of the healing and resilience that continues today.”

Luis Ferreiro, director of Musealia that organized the exhibit, said, “An exhibition this substantial and comprehensive on Auschwitz is unprecedented and is unlikely to ever be assembled again. Lending institutions all over the world have come together to make this exhibition possible.

“It is also a moral urgency to remember those who lost their lives at Auschwitz. Listening to their stories and understanding how these events could happen is the best action we, as citizens of the world, can take against the reoccurrence of such a horrific event.”

Join the waitlist for tickets at cincymuseum.org/Auschwitz. The opportunity to bring this impactful exhibition to Cincinnati has been generously supported by Rhonda and Larry Sheakley, the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati and the Ohio Holocaust and Genocide Memorial and Education Commission.

In addition to the international artifacts, the exhibition will also include specially curated stories of local Holocaust survivors who came to Cincinnati after the war to rebuild their lives. These stories are presented by the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center, which moved to Union Terminal in 2019.

Union Terminal holds profound significance as the arrival point for many Holocaust survivors and refugees who came to Cincinnati by train after the war. This connection makes the HHC the only Holocaust museum in the U.S. with a positive, authentic connection to its site.  

“HHC is honored to partner with Cincinnati Museum Center to bring this landmark exhibition to Ohio,” said Jackie Congedo, chief executive officer of the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center. “For years, our city and state have been at the forefront of pioneering Holocaust education and initiatives to combat antisemitism. Union Terminal stands as a beacon of hope, a space for civic conversations and a reminder of our collective responsibility to learn from the past and inspire a better future. This exhibition builds on the powerful legacy of our local Holocaust survivors, whose courage and stories continue to shape our community and guide our mission.”

History of Auschwitz

Strategically located on a major railway hub in the remote forests and marshes in southwest Poland, Auschwitz was the most lethal of the thousands of camps built and operated by Nazi Germany and its collaborators. The complex finally had three main camps and some 50 subcamps, designed and prioritized for efficiency, and the land controlled by the SS covered 40 square kilometers (over 15 square miles).

Of the 1.3 million people deported to Auschwitz, only 400,000 were registered and imprisoned; over the camp’s existence, nearly 900,000 people were murdered within hours after their deportation, their baggage and belongings stacked for sorting and looting by SS. In total, 1.1 million people were systematically murdered at Auschwitz, including nearly one million Jews. Tens of thousands of Poles, Sinti, Roma, Soviet POWs, Jehovah’s Witnesses and people deemed “homosexuals,” “criminals” or “inferior” were also among the lives lost at the camp that combined the function of a concentration camp and an extermination center.

The Soviet Army liberated the 7,000 prisoners remaining in the camp on Jan. 27, 1945. All other prisoners had been forced on death marches elsewhere.

All photos provided by Cincinnati Museum Center