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MCCC Library hosts virtual Shoah exhibit

The virtual Shoah exhibit hosted by the MCCC Library featured photos of Jewish victims during the Holocaust. (Photo courtesy of MCCC).

Being reminded of past tragedies cannot be overstated, especially with what happened to Jews during World War II.

The library at MCCC hosted a virtual Shoah exhibit from April 1st to the 30th.

Shoah is the Hebrew word for “catastrophe”, according to Dr. Terri Kovach, who helped make the exhibit.

Shoah refers to the mass murder of Jewish people by the Nazis during the Holocaust.

This exhibit had been in the works for a long time, even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, Kovach said.

“With the pandemic hitting, we sort of had to step back and rethink it,” Kovach said.

The exhibit was originally supposed to be an in-person exhibit. Kovach said posters were to be hung up around the library. Instead, these posters can be found in the first link on the virtual exhibit.

Along with the posters, there are many other links that are presented on the virtual exhibit. One of the links includes the film “Kinderblock 66,” a movie about four men who were imprisoned by the Nazis when they were young. They then return to the Buchenwald concentration camp 65 years later.

There is also an interview available on the exhibit conducted by Professor Edmund La Clair.

La Clair interviewed Kenneth Walter, former director of the Jewish studies at Michigan State University, and Steve Moskovic, executive producer of “Kinderblock 66.”

“I think the Holocaust is something people don’t know nearly enough about”, La Clair said. “My goal with that interview was to bring back the director, bring back Dr. Walter and then just fill in some of those gaps and open up some new questions for people who wanted to go ahead and learn more about the Holocaust.”

Laura Manley, MCCC Library director, was also involved in making this virtual exhibit possible. Manley said she thinks it is very important to have programming for students, even if it does not have the same visual impact as if it was on display in person.

The virtual exhibit offered a self-guided field trip to the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills.

Anyone  interested in the virtual Shoah exhibit can find it at https://www.monroeccc.edu/library/shoah-exhibit