Programs and Events
All exhibition programs and events are free and open to the public. Unless otherwise noted below, see Directions and Parking for on-campus options.
Monday, March 27 – Exhibition Opening Event
Open house with light refreshments at 5:00 pm. Welcome remarks from Boise State University president, Dr. Marlene Tromp, and the library’s Dean Tod Colegrove at 6:00 pm. Followed by a presentation and community conversation with Rabbi Daniel Fink, Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel.
Location: Albertsons Library, first floor
Time: 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Thursday, March 30 – Germany Calling: What Americans Heard Over the Airwaves
David Walker (Department of History, Boise State University) will discuss the content of German radio broadcasts to the United States during the Second World War, focusing on (a) the intent of the broadcasts, (b) any information concerning the Holocaust that those broadcasts conveyed, and (c) the broadcasters themselves.
Location: Albertsons Library, first floor
Time: 6:00 pm
Monday, April 3 – Film Screening and Panel Discussion – Casablanca (1942, M. Curtiz) (102 minutes)
Come watch and discuss one of the most famous films of the 20th century, winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1943, which also gives a media portrayal of Americans’ knowledge of the Holocaust. Join three Boise State faculty members, Ryan Cannon and Rulon Wood (Film and Television Arts) and Beret Norman (German, World Languages), for the post-screening discussion.
This program was made possible with support from the Department of World Languages at Boise State University.
Location: Albertsons Library, first floor
Time: 6:00 pm
Monday, April 10 – How Did Young Americans Respond to the Holocaust?
While growing up in a time of racial segregation and the Great Depression, some young Americans looked beyond the struggles of their own nation to respond to the Nazi threat in Europe. Amid a tumultuous nationwide isolationist student movement in the 1930s, college students debated aiding Jewish refugee students in their escape to the United States. Schoolchildren nationwide participated in a week-long “crusade” for children abroad. American exchange students in Germany wrote increasingly frantic letters home about what they were seeing. Historian Rebecca Erbelding (U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum) will share how American youth responded to the Holocaust as it was happening.
**This program was recorded. Click here to view “How Did Young Americans Respond to the Holocaust.”**
Location: Albertsons Library, first floor
Time: 6:00 pm
Thursday, April 13 – Higher Education Under Fascism: Between Individual Choice and Totalitarian Force
The Nazification of German society was marked by a tension between individual choice and totalitarian force. At German universities, Jewish students were exposed to violence, intimidation, and stringent quotas. Non-Jewish students, however, were confronted with a range of individual decisions about how to respond to rising authoritarianism. This talk by Adam Knowles (Department of Philosophy, University of Zurich) explores the way students in Germany responded along a spectrum between consent and resistance.
Presented in partnership with the Department of History at Boise State University and the Judaic Studies Program at the College of Idaho.
Location: Albertsons Library, first floor
Time: 6:00 pm
**This event will be accessible virtually. Register here to receive the link.**
Tuesday, April 18 – Holocaust Remembrance Walk
Join fellow community members for an event honoring Yom HaShoah (annual Holocaust Remembrance Day). The Walk begins at the Americans and the Holocaust exhibit at Albertsons Library, and departs from there at 5:30 pm. Our first stop is the Keith and Catherine Stein Luminary in Boise State’s Center for the Visual Arts. Participants will have an opportunity to experience videos and interactive exhibits from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in the Luminary’s all-digital museum space. The Walk will depart from the Luminary at 6:45 for our final gathering point: the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial. At 7:00 pm, Rabbi Daniel Fink will lead us in a thoughtful reflection of the past, with collective hope for the future. Total walking distance from Albertsons Library to the Anne Frank Memorial is approximately one mile.
Click here for a map of the Holocaust Remembrance Walk.
In partnership with Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel, the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights, and Boise State’s Stein Luminary.
Locations and Times:
5:30 pm – Depart Albertsons Library
6:45 pm – Depart the Stein Luminary
7:00 pm – Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial
Thursday, April 20 – Film Screening and Panel Discussion – Betrayed: Surviving an American Concentration Camp (2022) (60 minutes)
Come watch and discuss this documentary about Minidoka, an American concentration camp located in Jerome, Idaho, where over 13,000 Japanese Americans from Alaska, Oregon and Washington State were unconstitutionally incarcerated during WWII. Told through the voices of survivors of Minidoka, Betrayed explores the suspension of civil liberties during World War II, the long-lasting impact incarceration has on the Japanese American community, the rise of Japanese American activism in defense of the rights of others, and the relevance of this story today.
The screening will be followed by a panel conversation with Minidoka survivors Mary (Tanaka) Abo and Karen Hirai Olen, Kurt Ikeda, Director of Interpretation and Education at Minidoka National Historic Site and facilitated by Robyn Achilles, Executive Director of Friends of Minidoka.
This event is made possible with cooperation from North Shore Productions.
Location: Albertsons Library, first floor
Time: 6:00 pm
Parking: See Directions and Parking for on-campus locations and hourly rates.
Monday, April 24 – Sustaining Jewish Culture through Music
Jewish life in pre-Holocaust Europe was rich with music, including klezmer and Yiddish song. Jewish immigrants brought this music to the United States before the war, and it flourished at celebrations and in the theater in both Europe and the United States, where it continues in both its evolution and preservation of tradition. Join local klezmer band the Moody Jews as they trace the roots and development of this music, exploring an important link to a culture that was diminished, but not destroyed, by the Holocaust.
Location: Albertsons Library, first floor
Time: 6:00 pm
Parking: See Directions and Parking for on-campus locations and hourly rates.
Wednesday, April 26th – From History to Today: Shared Legacies, Shared Aspirations
Register here; registration is required by Monday, April 24.
Please join us for a community conversation on the last evening of the exhibition. The program will include a short presentation by Idaho’s U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit on the United Against Hate platform, followed by an hour-long panel discussion with community leaders Rabbi Daniel Fink (Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel), Cherie Buckner-Webb (Former Idaho Senator), and Kurt Ikeda (Minidoka National Historic Site) moderated by Randy Magen (Professor, Boise State University School of Social Work).
Presented in partnership with the Pacific Northwest Anti-Defamation League, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho, and Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel.
Location: Albertsons Library, first floor
Time: 6:00 pm
Parking: Free parking for tonight’s event is available in the Liberal Arts parking lot (map). See Directions and Parking for additional on-campus locations and hourly rates.
