When antisemitism hits close to home, partnerships matter

We believe that one of the most effective ways to break down barriers and ultimately dismantle antisemitism is through relationships.

The Carnegie Free Library of Beaver Falls hosted the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s traveling exhibit “Americans and the Holocaust” from March 17 through April 28. The exhibit and its associated programming revealed that the Jewish community has many great partners throughout our region.

Amid the concerns over the rise of antisemitic incidents locally and nationally, it is heartening to see support from non-Jewish neighbors and allies.

Over two years ago, the Carnegie Free Library of Beaver Falls reached out to the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh to help it build context around the traveling exhibition “Americans and the Holocaust.” The Holocaust Center worked in partnership with the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center to expand the discussion of the Holocaust to include a look at local Jewish life. The Carnegie Free Library of Beaver Falls was ultimately chosen to receive this exhibit.

“Americans and the Holocaust” is a major exhibition at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the traveling exhibit extends the reach of the story. The traveling exhibit installation, developed in collaboration with the American Library Association, is an accessible story with engaging graphics and informative videos.

It asks the important questions: What did Americans know about the Holocaust as it was unfolding, and what did they do
with that knowledge? The exhibit encourages visitors to make connections to current events.

The Holocaust Center and the Rauh Jewish Archives jointly created local panels to accompany the exhibit. Those panels told the story of the Jewish experience in Beaver County going back to the 1850s and examined the impact of the Holocaust on western Pennsylvania. The panels encouraged visitors to draw closer connections between global events and their local community.

As part of the traveling exhibition, the Carnegie Free Library of Beaver Falls included a public programming series. The Holocaust Center and the Rauh Jewish Archives worked with Dr. Jeffrey Cole of Geneva College, who has been teaching Holocaust and genocide studies for decades, and other community leaders from Beaver Falls to organize programs showcasing the different ways the Holocaust and antisemitism has affected those living in western Pennsylvania over the decades. Over the course of six weeks, a coalition of Jewish organizations from Pittsburgh brought some of their proven educational programming series to Beaver Falls.

The programming series tapped into the breadth and depth of experience in the local Jewish community. Historian Barbara Burstin drew on her decades of experience teaching about America and the Holocaust to provide deeper insights into the themes of the exhibit. Eric Lidji used the records of the Rauh Jewish Archives to localize the themes of the exhibit to Beaver County. A member of the Holocaust Center’s Generations Speakers Bureau shared her parents’ story of survival and had them join via Zoom for a Q&A. The 10.27 Healing Partnership arranged a panel of its REACH speakers, those who most impacted by the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, to share their stories. Classrooms Without Borders presented information about its experiential trips for students and educators.

These programs were well attended, bringing more than 400 people from diverse backgrounds, and attendees ranged in age from 20 to 80. The attendees asked thoughtful and sensitive questions.

What is the value of these partnerships?

During the run of the exhibit, news broke: Red swastikas were spray painted onto a building in the small town of Beaver, one town over from Beaver Falls. While the vandalism appeared to be unconnected to the exhibit, it demonstrated the ongoing relevance of studying this history and its impact on present-day communities.

In the days following the news, partners in Beaver Falls were sympathetic and responsive. Community members publicly expressed outrage. The incident provided opportunities for security officials in the Jewish community to create stronger relationships with Beaver County law enforcement. A few days after, nearly 150 people attended the program to learn about how the Holocaust affected real people and asked what they could do now to make a difference.

We are not naïve. We, too, feel afraid when news breaks of another violent attack against Jews. We know there are no quick fixes for antisemitism. We are grateful to be part of a community of organizations working to dismantle antisemitism and all forms of identity-based hate.

We believe that one of the most effective ways to break down barriers and ultimately dismantle antisemitism is through
relationships. The response to blatant antisemitism by our friends in Beaver Falls shows the power of humanizing the issue and working together to confront identity-based hate of all kinds. The Holocaust Center, which is a program of The Tree of Life, and the Rauh Jewish Archives have been collaborating on new approaches to engage communities throughout western Pennsylvania — teaching about the Holocaust, the history of Jewish life in each community and antisemitism. Our recent experience in Beaver Falls gives us hope that this approach can have a real and lasting impact. PJC

Eric Lidji is the director of the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives at the Senator John Heinz History Center. Emily Loeb is the director of Programs & Education at the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh.