Written by Brian Powers, Community Content Coordinator, Downtown Main Library
Alongside the 67th Veterans Day Commemoration, the Downtown Main Library will showcase three new veterans-focused exhibits exploring their experiences while serving in wars.
"Voices of Liberation: Cincinnatians Experience the Holocaust"
The year 1945 marked not just the end of World War II, but the liberation of Nazi concentration camps across Europe. As Allied troops advanced into Germany and Axis-occupied territories, soldiers encountered the atrocities of the Holocaust in these camps.
Voices of Liberation: Cincinnatians Experience the Holocaust, which can also be viewed online, features artifacts from the Cincinnati Museum Center as well as interviews from the Veteran's History Project. These interviews document the experiences of six Cincinnati veterans who witnessed the horrors of World War II.
Located on the first floor of the South Building, this exhibit serves as a companion to Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center’s To Bear Witness: Stories from Auschwitz to Cincinnati, which is currently on view at Union Terminal.
"Through Our Eyes" Vietnam Veterans Showcase
A special exhibit from the Cincinnati Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center called Through Our Eyes - Vietnam Veterans Showcase is also on display at the Downtown Main Library. It commemorates the 50-year anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War by sharing the stories and photographs of local Vietnam-era veterans.
The showcase is an extension of Cincinnati VA’s My Life, My Story (MLMS) program, which equips volunteers to interview patients about their lives. From these interviews, volunteers craft brief life histories that, with the patient’s permission, become part of their electronic medical record. While the stories collected through MLMS honor veterans’ legacies and can be shared with loved ones, the program is designed to humanize the patients to listeners.
The “Through Our Eyes” showcase is located on the first floor of South Building.
The Victory Book Drive of World War II
In February 1942, just two months after the United States entered World War II, a national project known as the Victory Book Drive sought to collect 10,000,000 books for those serving in the armed forces. While donations from the 1942 Book Drive were abundant, the collected books often proved challenging to pack and ship.
To augment the need for reading material, the Army Library Service worked with American publishing companies to create a series of paperback books known as Armed Services Editions, which were designed for free distribution to those serving in the armed forces.
Small enough to fit into a trouser or breast pocket, these books provided diversion and consolation during the difficult conditions of war. Explore such books and materials in the Veterans’ Corner on the Main Library’s second floor of the South building.
Explore more about veterans from Greater Cincinnati in the online Veteran's History Digital Exhibit.
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