Booth Library opened its doors for the “Courage to Remember” exhibit hosted by the Champaign-Urbana Jewish Federation in the West Reading Room Monday afternoon.
The traveling exhibit displays information on different panels about the Holocaust.
In partnership with the Holocaust Education Center, the exhibit is the first traveling exhibit at Eastern since 2020, according to Booth Library Events and Exhibits Coordinator Diane Highland.
“I think from a social standpoint, it’s critical for us to remember and recognize the atrocities that were performed decades ago and to make sure that we’re not repeating those,” Highland said. “So, keeping this visible and appreciated is really important work.”
The opening of the exhibit corresponds with Holocaust Remembrance Day, which occurs every year on Jan. 27 in alignment with the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
Eastern President Jay Gatrell spoke at a brief introduction ceremony in front of a crowd of about 40 people.
“When you leave here today, and you reflect on this and the images you will see and the text that has been curated and prepared, I ask that you also leave with these few words,” Gatrell said at the ceremony. “May their memories be a blessing.”
Gatrell gave way to the director of the federation, Ma’ayan Weinberg, who shared a story about the loss of part of her family to the Holocaust.
Her message was that everyone on display in the exhibit was an ordinary person who had a story, which is what motivates her to continue to share the stories of those affected.
“My grandfather at 18 years old drove back having just left Poland years earlier to try and convince the rest of his family to escape as Nazis rose to power,” Weinberg said. “They did not [escape], and that whole branch of our family was never heard from again.”
Weinberg said that communities all over central Illinois have been receptive to the stories that she shares. Her motivation to continue operating exhibits like this is knowing that not only her family story but other people’s stories continue being shared.
She said that her biggest takeaway from traveling with the exhibit is that there’s still work to be done to educate people about the Holocaust, citing a 2020 survey about Illinoisans’ knowledge of the Holocaust.
“The numbers that came out of it on the lack of understanding and knowledge about the Holocaust was shocking,” Weinberg said. “They found direct correlations between exposure to stories and the history of the Holocaust and a lack of belief in [antisemitism].”
Brian Keith, Eastern’s dean of library services, said that it’s important that the library gets the opportunity to host things like this.
With the library’s location in the center of campus and the different types of people that use the library’s services, Keith said that people have the opportunity to expose themselves to something crucial.
“I can’t think of a more important thing for us to acknowledge and for people to become educated about, for us to fill in gaps in people’s knowledge,” Keith said.
The exhibit is on display until Friday.
Gabe Newman can be reached at 581-2812 or at ghnewman@eiu.edu.