Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. opens at Cincinnati Museum Center in October 2025. For those who have never visited the camp, it represents an unparalleled learning opportunity.
“The people are not present… but there are traces of them still in those buildings.” —Cori Silbernagel
What can Auschwitz still teach us today? A visit to Poland made by two of our staff, Cori Silbernagel, Director of Collections & Exhibitions, and Trinity Johnson, Director of Holocaust Programs & Museum Experiences, may help shed some light on that question. They share powerful moments from behind-the-scenes spaces like Block 10 and an unpreserved barrack, where the fingerprints of Soviet POWs remain in the brick mortar.
80 years after liberation, the world may think it knows most everything about the space and history of Auschwitz. Cori and Trinity’s conversation shows us that we are never really done learning, and that Auschwitz still holds lessons for us today.
Those who visit will not just see the same exhibition shown around the world. They will also get in-depth local stories of Auschwitz survivors who immigrated to Cincinnati. During WWII, the historic train station where this exhibition will be shown saw millions of American servicemen come through its doors. But there was another group of travelers whose lives would be impacted by Union Terminal. More than 1,000 Jews who survived the Holocaust immigrated to Cincinnati, arriving in the very building where the public will be able to view Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away.
The upcoming presentation of this international exhibition would not have been possible without the generous support of these community leaders and organizations.
- The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati
- The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati
- H.B., E.W. & F.R. Luther Charitable Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee
- Jacob G. Schmidlapp Fund, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee
- Helen G., Henry F., Louise Tuechter Dornette Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee
- The Neil Bortz Family
- Anonymous
- Beth and Louis Guttman
- Fred and Patti Heldman
- Paul Heldman and Deborah Kirshner
- Roger and Julie Heldman
- The Kantor/Knue Families
- Rockwern Foundation
- Rosenthal Family Foundation
- Les and Renee Sandler
- Larry and Rhonda Sheakley
- Marcia & Richard Weiland (of blessed memory)
- Western & Southern Financial Group
To Bear Witness: Stories from Auschwitz to Cincinnati is part of the Cynthia & Harold Guttman Family Center for Storytelling. Special thanks to Julie and John Cohen for their support of this series. Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. was created by Musealia in cooperation with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.
Presented by NEON.
Musealia
Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum
NEON
https://www.neonglobal.com/en/
Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. ticket info, additional resources for both adults and students, travel itineraries and more
https://www.cincymuseum.org/auschwitz/
Visit the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/
