The Chattanooga Public Library is one of 50 libraries nationwide to host a new traveling exhibition: Americans and the Holocaust.
The downtown library was chosen by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association.
The touring library exhibition - based on the special exhibition of the same name at the Holocaust museum in Washington, D.C. - examines the motives, pressures and fears that shaped Americans' responses to Nazism, war and genocide in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s, according to the library.
More than 250 libraries applied for the 50 spots. Chattanooga's library was selected through a peer-reviewed application process that considered community demographics, library outreach plans, and the availability of other Holocaust-related educational opportunities in the library's region, among other factors.
Library Executive Director Corinne Hill said in a statement that the library's mission is to provide lifelong learning.
"By hosting Americans and the Holocaust, we'll be bringing an educational experience to everyone, including those who may not have the opportunity to see the collection in Washington, D.C.," she said.
Chattanooga Public Library will host the exhibition from December 2020 to February 2021. As the only library in Tennessee selected, it will be the closest opportunity for many to see Americans and the Holocaust, including residents and schools of nearby metro areas in Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina, the library said.
To learn more about the exhibition, visit ushmm.org/americans-ala.