Exhibits
The CUJF Holocaust Education Center organizes many local exhibits and events ranging from paintings to music to film related to the Holocaust.
Upcoming Exhibits
SPECIAL EVENTS
All events will be held at the Booth Library.
- Sunday, January 11th at 2:00 PM - Exhibit Opening
- Tuesday, January 27th at 1:00 PM - Ceremony honoring International Holocaust Rememberance Day
GUIDED TOURS
School tours for community groups, children in grades 5 to 12, and university classes may be arranged outside of public viewing hours, and those interested in viewing the exhibit with a volunteer guide may contact the HEC to see when they are available.
Anyone with questions about the exhibit should email [email protected] or call 217-367-9872.
The Auschwitz Experience in the Art of Prisoners
created by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum
January 11th - 29th, 2026
Booth Library at Eastern Illinois University
600 N Lincoln Ave, Charleston, IL
PUBLIC VIEWING HOURS
Sunday: 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Monday - Thursday: 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Friday - Saturday: 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
ABOUT THE EXHIBIT
The exhibit, created by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland, features artwork by 12 Holocaust survivors who documented their experiences in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp, the largest German Concentration and extermination camp during WWII. Visitors will be able to see these profound pieces of art, which include 60 paintings and drawings displayed thematically on 24-panels, in docent-led small groups or independently.
This will mark the second year that the Booth Library has partnered with the CUJF Holocaust Education Center to host a traveling Holocaust exhibit surrounding International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27th. The two organizations hope to continue this partnership as an annual tradition, seeking to expand Holocaust education opportunities and develop an atmosphere of tolerance and community amongst Central Illinois students.
SERVE AS A VOLUNTEER DOCENT
The Holocaust Education Center is looking for help covering docent shifts to keep the exhibit open. If you or someone you know is interested in helping, click the button below to sign up for a slot - no prior experience is needed! Volunteer docent training will be held virtually prior to the exhibit. Email [email protected] with any questions.
Available Traveling Exhibits
Courage to Remember: The Holocaust, 1933-1945 Traveling Exhibit
"Hope lives when people remember."
Simon Wiesenthal, 1808-2005, Holocaust survivor
When Courage to Remember Traveling Exhibit was designed thirty years ago, it was a reminder that the senseless acts of persecution and genocide from the Nazi Holocaust shuld never be forgotten. Yet, decades later, hate, bigotry, antisemitism, and genocide are still widespread in the world and even in our own communities.
Courage to Remember has traveled to more than 50 countries and has been seen by more than 20 million visitors. This exhibit continues to inspire visitors to stand up against hate and bigotry. This exhibit brings the past alive with large, illustrated panels that enable visitors to read about events of the Holocaust, as well as excerpts from first-person accounts of persecution and survival. Courage to Remember hopes to inspire young and old alike to explore history, combat bigotry, and fight injustice.
Courage to Remember Traveling Exhibit is presented by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Museum of Tolerance, Los Angeles, California.
The Auschwitz Experience in the Art of Prisoners
This exhibition is comprised of artwork by 12 survivors of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp who documented their experiences during the Holocaust. It features 60 pieces of art is on loan from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum in Poland. It is our honor to premiere this exhibition in the U.S.
"By observing life in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp through the memory of its inmates, you will have the opportunity to increase knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust and learn about the daily struggle for survival by the camp's prisoners,"
Robert Lehmann, past co-chair of the CUJF's Holocaust Education Committee.
SHOAH: How Was It Humanly Possible
With Champaign-Urbana Community Connections to the Holocaust
This exhibition displays major historical aspects of the Holocaust. Known in Hebrew as the Shoah, the Holocaust was a total and systematic genocide, between 1933 and 1945 in Europe by Nazi Germany and its collaborators. Their aim, complete annihilation of the Jewish people through mass extermination.
These large panels bring the past to the present and enable visitors to further understand the Holocaust and remember the victims, through first person accounts of not only persecution, but the resilience of survival.
“Through the haunting echoes of history, this exhibit stands as a testament to resilience, a warning against hatred, and a call to remember the past. This exhibit brings a connection to the local community, sharing an experience to guide us towards a better future.”
Courtney Smith, current chair of the CUJF's Holocaust Education Committee.