New Mexico State University Library is one of 50 libraries nationwide selected to host “Americans and the Holocaust,” a traveling exhibition from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association. The exhibition will be on display Aug. 24 through Sept. 25 at Zuhl Library, bringing a portion of the renowned museum’s collection and programming to the Las Cruces community.
The exhibition examines what Americans knew about Nazi persecution and how they responded during the 1930s and 1940s. Drawing on primary sources, including newspaper articles, photographs and personal accounts, the exhibit explores the motives, pressures and fears that shaped American responses to Nazism, World War II and the Holocaust.
The NMSU Library will host four free public programs in conjunction with the exhibition on the third floor of Zuhl Library. The series begins with an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 27. Each program starts at 3 p.m.:
· Andy Holten will present “A Holocaust Testimony: Experiences of a Hidden Child during the Nazi Occupation of the Netherlands” on Sept. 3.
· Historians Jamie Bronstein and Dylan McDonald will present “New Mexicans and the Holocaust: Stories of Action and Accountability” on Sept. 10.
· Camelia Caton-Garcia of the New Mexico Holocaust and Intolerance Museum will present “Refuge in the Land of Enchantment: Holocaust Survivors Who Made New Mexico Home” on Sept. 17.
· A screening of “Nazi Town, USA” and a question-and-answer session with director Peter Yost will take place on Sept. 24.
“We are thrilled to have been selected to host this important exhibition curated by an esteemed national museum,” said Kevin Comerford, dean of the NMSU Library. “We aspire to create programming across diverse disciplines and engage with additional community partners.”
First broached as an opportunity to explore with library administration back in 2019 ahead of the 2021-2023 national tour, Aubrey Iglesias, associate professor and cataloging librarian at NMSU, was given the go ahead in 2023 to take the lead in applying for the opportunity to host the exhibition for the 2024-2026 tour. Following NMSU’s selection, planning began for the exhibition and its related programming and partnerships.
For McDonald, special collections librarian, bringing the exhibition to Las Cruces was a chance to share a portion of the Holocaust Museum’s work with the local community.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to have a world-class museum bring some of their exhibition here to Las Cruces,” McDonald said. “I’ve been to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., Aubrey has as well, and it’s a deeply moving experience. To bring a portion of that critical and timely message here to Las Cruces was something we could not pass up.”
McDonald said the library hopes the exhibition reaches audiences beyond the NMSU campus.
“This exhibit is something that we want the greater community to come out to experience – folks from Las Cruces, Doña Ana County and even further,” McDonald said. “We’ve partnered with a lot of people to help bring this message here.”
The programming was developed with support from community partners, including the New Mexico Holocaust and Intolerance Museum in Albuquerque. This partnership was particularly important in developing the local programming, McDonald said the museum helped connect NMSU organizers with experts who could provide insight into New Mexico’s history and what Americans knew about the Holocaust during World War II.
Iglesias said the exhibition provides an opportunity for students, faculty and community members to explore the Holocaust through multiple disciplines, including but not only limited to history, while also examining the experiences of refugees and survivors who eventually made New Mexico their home.
“It’s an excellent jumping-off point just to reflect upon history and what has happened in the United States,” Iglesias said. “This exhibition and related programming really could reach so many different disciplinary areas – in terms of film, and how news was portrayed, for example, while giving students, faculty, as well as the community, the opportunity to engage with the director a powerful documentary.”
The exhibition also offers an opportunity to challenge misconceptions about what Americans knew as the Holocaust unfolded.
“Some may be under the impression that, ‘Oh, we in the United States didn’t know that much about what was happening in Nazi Germany at the time as it was so far away,’” Iglesias said. “Based on primary sources at the Holocaust Museum, however, this exhibition gives a much deeper and thorough perspective of what Americans knew.”
The exhibition is free and open to all ages. Visitors may take self-guided tours whenever Zuhl Library is open and should plan for at least 30 minutes to explore the exhibition’s text panels and interactive multimedia elements. NMSU faculty and instructors, as well as Las Cruces Public Schools educators and administrators, are encouraged to explore the exhibition and its cross-disciplinary educational resources. Group tours require reservations at least one week in advance. To schedule a group tour, contact Iglesias at aiglesia@nmsu.edu or McDonald at dylanmc@nmsu.edu.
For more information about “Americans and the Holocaust” and related programming at NMSU, visit https://library.nmsu.edu/holocaustexhibition2026.html.