New Mexico State University Library is one of 50 U.S. libraries newly selected to host Americans and the Holocaust, a traveling exhibition from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association (ALA) that examines the motives, pressures and fears that shaped Americans’ responses to Nazism, war and genocide in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s.

The 1,100-square-foot exhibition examines various aspects of American society: the government, the military, refugee aid organizations, the media and the general public. Drawing on a remarkable collection of primary sources from the 1930s and ’40s, the exhibition tells the stories of Americans who acted in response to Nazism, challenging the commonly held assumptions that Americans knew little and did nothing about the Nazi persecution and murder of Jews as the Holocaust unfolded. It provides a portrait of American society that shows how the Depression, isolationism, xenophobia, racism and antisemitism shaped responses to Nazism and the Holocaust.

The NMSU Library will offer four free public programs in conjunction with the exhibition that will take place at 3 p.m. on the third floor of Zuhl Library. The series begins with an opening reception on Thursday, Aug. 27, from 5-7 p.m., followed by Andy Holten sharing “A Holocaust Testimony: Experiences of a Hidden Child during the Nazi Occupation of the Netherlands” on Sept. 3; “New Mexicans and the Holocaust: Stories of Action and Accountability” with historians Jamie Bronstein and Dylan McDonald takes place on Sept. 10; “Refuge in the Land of Enchantment: Holocaust Survivors Who Made New Mexico Home” will be presented by New Mexico Holocaust & Intolerance Museum’s Camelia Caton-Garcia on Sept. 17; and the documentary “Nazi Town, USA” will be screened followed by a Q&A session with director Peter Yost on Sept. 24.

Self-Guided tours give you the freedom to visit at your own pace; plan for at least 30 minutes to engage with the text panels and interactive multimedia elements throughout the exhibit. Visitors are welcome to view the exhibit whenever Zuhl Library is open.