Largest collection of artifacts from Auschwitz coming to Cincinnati

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 27, 2025
MEDIA CONTACTS: 
Cody Hefner, Cincinnati Museum Center, (513) 608-5777, chefner@cincymuseum.org
Kara Driscoll, Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center, (513) 638-0508, kdriscoll@cincyhhc.org 

Largest collection of artifacts from Auschwitz outside Europe coming to Cincinnati

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. brings over 500 artifacts and 400 photographs to Cincinnati's Union Terminal

CINCINNATI – As the world commemorates the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz – one of the most infamous sites of the Holocaust – Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) and the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center (HHC) announced they will host the most comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the history of Auschwitz ever presented in North America. Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. will open at Union Terminal on October 18, 2025.

PHOTOS AND B ROLL

The exhibition highlights the profound humanity of those who perished, offering a poignant and sobering glimpse into the devastating realities of Auschwitz and the enduring significance of its history. The exhibition, featuring more than 500 original objects from Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and more than 20 other international museums, traces the rise of Nazi ideology and the transformation of Auschwitz from an ordinary Polish town known as Oświęcim into a place where unimaginable atrocities and extraordinary human resilience intersected. 

“In Cincinnati, we have an important and specific opportunity to share the history of Auschwitz and its survivors,” said Elizabeth Pierce, President & CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center. “Union Terminal is part of this history, both for liberators and for survivors. With our partners at the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center, Union Terminal is part of the healing and resilience that continues today.”

Among the exhibition’s more than 500 objects and 400 photographs are hundreds of personal items that belonged to survivors and victims of Auschwitz, including suitcases, eyeglasses and shoes. Some of the key artifacts include concrete posts that were part of the fence of the Auschwitz camp, fragments of an original prisoner barracks from the Auschwitz III-Monowitz camp, Picasso’s Lithograph of a Prisoner, a desk and other possessions that depict the world of the perpetrators including the first and the longest serving Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss.

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. was created by Musealia in cooperation with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and curated by an international panel of experts, including world-renowned scholars Dr. Robert Jan van Pelt, Dr. Michael Berenbaum and Paul Salmons, in an unprecedented collaboration with historians and curators at the Research Center at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, led by Dr. Piotr Setkiewicz.

Piotr Cywiński, Director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial, expressed, “The tragedy of Auschwitz forces every visitor to bear witness to this horrifying chapter of human history and build a future shaped by remembrance. Especially today, when our democracies are so threatened by an increasingly strong wave of populism and demagoguery, we must understand our own responsibility to create a future free from antisemitism, racism, and all ideologies of hatred.”

In addition to the hundreds of items displayed from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, more than 20 other international museums and institutions have participated with special loans, such as Yad Vashem in Israel and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. “An exhibition this substantial and comprehensive on Auschwitz is unprecedented and is unlikely to ever be assembled again. Lending institutions all over the world have come together to make this exhibition possible,” shared Luis Ferreiro, Director of Musealia. "It is also a moral urgency to remember those who lost their lives at Auschwitz. Listening to their stories and understanding how these events could happen is the best action we, as citizens of the world, can take against the reoccurrence of such a horrific event.”

 Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. opens October 18, 2025 at Union Terminal. Join the waitlist for tickets at cincymuseum.org/Auschwitz. The opportunity to bring this impactful exhibition to Cincinnati has been generously supported by Rhonda and Larry Sheakley, the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati and the Ohio Holocaust and Genocide Memorial and Education Commission.

In addition to the international artifacts, the exhibition will also include specially curated stories of local Holocaust survivors who came to Cincinnati after the war to rebuild their lives. These stories are presented by the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center, which moved to Union Terminal in 2019.

Union Terminal holds profound significance as the arrival point for many Holocaust survivors and refugees who came to Cincinnati by train after the war. This connection makes the HHC the only Holocaust museum in the U.S. with a positive, authentic connection to its site. Through this unique historical context, the HHC serves as a powerful space to learn about the Holocaust while inspiring action through its emphasis on resilience and humanity.

“HHC is honored to partner with Cincinnati Museum Center to bring this landmark exhibition to Ohio,” said Jackie Congedo, chief executive officer of the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center. “For years, our city and state have been at the forefront of pioneering Holocaust education and initiatives to combat antisemitism. Union Terminal stands as a beacon of hope, a space for civic conversations and a reminder of our collective responsibility to learn from the past and inspire a better future. This exhibition builds on the powerful legacy of our local Holocaust survivors, whose courage and stories continue to shape our community and guide our mission.”

Prior to the exhibition opening, guests are encouraged to explore the Holocaust & Humanity Center to learn from the stories of local survivors and victims, engaged with artifacts that tell these stories and reflect on their resilience. These stories challenge guests to leverage their own strengths to be upstanders against injustice today. HHC is open Thursdays through Mondays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Plan your visit at holocaustandhumanity.org/plan-your-visit.

History of Auschwitz
Strategically located on a major railway hub in the remote forests and marshes in southwest Poland, Auschwitz was the most lethal of the thousands of camps built and operated by Nazi Germany and its collaborators. The complex finally had three main camps and some 50 subcamps, designed and prioritized for efficiency, and the land controlled by the SS covered 40 square kilometers (over 15 square miles).

Of the 1.3 million people deported to Auschwitz, only 400,000 were registered and imprisoned; over the camp’s existence, nearly 900,000 people were murdered within hours after their deportation, their baggage and belongings stacked for sorting and looting by SS. In total, 1.1 million people were systematically murdered at Auschwitz, including nearly one million Jews. Tens of thousands of Poles, Sinti, Roma, Soviet POWs, Jehovah’s Witnesses and people deemed “homosexuals,” “criminals” or “inferior” were also among the lives lost at the camp that combined the function of a concentration camp and an extermination center.

The Soviet Army liberated the 7,000 prisoners remaining in the camp on January 27, 1945. All other prisoners had been forced on death marches elsewhere.