Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. opens at Cincinnati Museum Center in October 2025. For those who have never visited the camp, it represents an unparalleled learning opportunity.

“The people are not present… but there are traces of them still in those buildings.” —Cori Silbernagel

What can Auschwitz still teach us today? A visit to Poland made by two of our staff, Cori Silbernagel, Director of Collections & Exhibitions, and Trinity Johnson, Director of Holocaust Programs & Museum Experiences, may help shed some light on that question. They share powerful moments from behind-the-scenes spaces like Block 10 and an unpreserved barrack, where the fingerprints of Soviet POWs remain in the brick mortar.

80 years after liberation, the world may think it knows most everything about the space and history of Auschwitz. Cori and Trinity’s conversation shows us that we are never really done learning, and that Auschwitz still holds lessons for us today.

Those who visit Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. will not just see the same exhibition shown around the world. They will also get in-depth local stories of Auschwitz survivors who immigrated to Cincinnati. During WWII, the historic train station where this exhibition will be shown saw millions of American servicemen come through its doors. But there was another group of travelers whose lives would be impacted by Union Terminal. More than 1,000 Jews who survived the Holocaust immigrated to Cincinnati, arriving in the very building where the public will be able to view Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away.

The opportunity to bring this exhibition to Cincinnati has been generously supported by Rhonda and Larry Sheakley, the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati, the Ohio Holocaust and Genocide Memorial and Education Commission and

H.B., E.W. & F.R. Luther Charitable Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee

Jacob G. Schmidlapp Fund, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee

Helen G., Henry F., Louise Tuechter Dornette Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee

Western & Southern Financial Group

Les and Renee Sandler

The Kanter/Knue Family

The Neil Bortz Family

Rosenthal Family Foundation

Beth and Louis Guttman

To Bear Witness: Stories from Auschwitz to Cincinnati is part of the Cynthia & Harold Guttman Family Center for Storytelling. Special thanks to Julie and John Cohen for their support of this series. Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. was created by Musealia in cooperation with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. Presented by NEON.

Musealia https://www.musealia.net/

Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum https://www.auschwitz.org/en/

NEON https://www.neonglobal.com/en/

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. ticket info, additional resources for both adults and students, travel itineraries and more https://www.cincymuseum.org/auschwitz/

Visit the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/

Send us a text

She said, "Will you take me as a sister?" And we said, "Yes, you will be our third sister.” And that's how we went through the war to be known as the three sisters." We were always holding hands together so we wouldn't be separated.

- Rozalia Berke, Auschwitz survivor

In Auschwitz, two sisters chose resistance — not with weapons, but with books, courage, and love. Roma and Rozalia Kaltman survived the Holocaust by clinging to each other and forming a chosen family with a third girl in the camps, Danka. Together, they became "the three sisters," and stayed alive despite dehumanization and death marches.

Cori Silbernagel, Director of Collections & Exhibitions is joined by Trinity Johnson, Director of Holocaust Programs & Museum Experiences to explore the stories of these incredible women by sharing a few minutes of them in their own words. Even though Roma and Rozalia are gone, their lives continue to move and inspire us.

This episode is part of a limited series, created to enrich the experience of visitors planning to attend the exhibition Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. Coming to Cincinnati Museum Center in October, 2025.

Those who visit will not just see the same exhibition shown around the world. They will also get in-depth local stories of Auschwitz survivors who immigrated to Cincinnati. During WWII, the historic train station where this exhibition will be shown saw millions of American servicemen come through its doors. But there was another group of travelers whose lives would be impacted by Union Terminal. More than 1,000 Jews who survived the Holocaust immigrated to Cincinnati, arriving in the very building where the public will be able to view Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away.

The opportunity to bring this exhibition to Cincinnati has been generously supported by Rhonda and Larry Sheakley, the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati, the Ohio Holocaust and Genocide Memorial and Education Commission and

H.B., E.W. & F.R. Luther Charitable Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee

Jacob G. Schmidlapp Fund, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee

Helen G., Henry F., Louise Tuechter Dornette Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee

Western & Southern Financial Group

Les and Renee Sandler

The Kanter/Knue Family

The Neil Bortz Family

Rosenthal Family Foundation

Beth and Louis Guttman

Interviews of Roma Kaltman, Rozalia Berke, Henry Meyer, and Bella Ouziel are from the archive of the USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education

For more information: http://sfi.usc.edu/

To Bear Witness: Stories from Auschwitz to Cincinnati is part of the Cynthia & Harold Guttman Family Center for Storytelling. Special thanks to Julie and John Cohen for their support of this series. Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. was created by Musealia in cooperation with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. Presented by NEON.

Musealia https://www.musealia.net/

Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum https://www.auschwitz.org/en/

NEON https://www.neonglobal.com/en/

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. ticket info, additional resources for both adults and students, travel itineraries and more https://www.cincymuseum.org/auschwitz/

Visit the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/

Send us a text

Step behind the scenes, into the archives of the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center, in Union Terminal, to explore the lives of Henry Carter and Leo Wilich—Auschwitz survivors who rebuilt their lives in Cincinnati.

“Henry didn't sit idly by in the ghetto. He, through acts that were both big and small, did what he could to resist, and he became involved in the underground movement. When I look at this photograph of Henry, I can see - I can see that courage within his face.”

• Cori Silbernagel, Director of Collections & Exhibitions at the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center

You’ll hear how Henry risked everything to resist Nazi rule from inside the Krakow ghetto, and how he later adopted a child orphaned by the Holocaust. We also explore Leo’s ritual of putting on his camp uniform during hard times—reminding himself that he had already survived the worst. We share these stories ahead of a landmark collection of artifacts and photos from Auschwitz, coming to Cincinnati in October 2025. In this limited series, we’ll add insight and local context to this internationally renowned exhibition.

Those who visit will not just see the same exhibition shown around the world. They will also get in-depth local stories of Auschwitz survivors who immigrated to Cincinnati. During WWII, the historic train station where this exhibition will be shown saw millions of American servicemen come through its doors. But there was another group of travelers whose lives would be impacted by Union Terminal. More than 1,000 Jews who survived the Holocaust immigrated to Cincinnati, arriving in the very building where the public will be able to view Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away.

The opportunity to bring this exhibition to Cincinnati has been generously supported by Rhonda and Larry Sheakley, the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati, the Ohio Holocaust and Genocide Memorial and Education Commission and

H.B., E.W. & F.R. Luther Charitable Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee

Jacob G. Schmidlapp Fund, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee

Helen G., Henry F., Louise Tuechter Dornette Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee

Western & Southern Financial Group

Les and Renee Sandler

The Kanter/Knue Family

The Neil Bortz Family

Rosenthal Family Foundation

Beth and Louis Guttman

To Bear Witness: Stories from Auschwitz to Cincinnati is part of the Cynthia & Harold Guttman Family Center for Storytelling. Special thanks to Julie and John Cohen for their support of this series. Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. was created by Musealia in cooperation with the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.

Presented by NEON.

For more information, please visit:

Musealia

https://www.musealia.net/

Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

https://www.auschwitz.org/en/

NEON

https://www.neonglobal.com/en/

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. ticket info, additional resources for both adults and students, travel itineraries and more

https://www.cincymuseum.org/auschwitz/

Visit the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/

Send us a text