ANNOUNCER: ON THIS EPISODE OF SHOWCASE WITH BARBARA KELLAR WE'RE JOINED BY JACKIE CONGEDO, CEO OF THE NANCY AND DAVID WOLF HOLOCAUST AND HUMANITY CENTER; AND ELIZABETH PIERCE, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER.

THEY SHARE THE STORY BEHIND THE POWERFUL TRAVELING EXHIBITION AUSCHWITZ: NOT LONG AGO, NOT FAR AWAY, AND DISCUSS THE UNIQUE COLLABORATION BETWEEN THEIR TWO INSTITUTIONS THAT MADE IT POSSIBLE.

STAY WITH US.

SHOWCASE STARTS RIGHT NOW.

[MUSIC] KELLAR: HI I'M BARBARA KELLAR.

WELCOME TO SHOWCASE.

WE HAVE TWO, I THINK, FAMILIAR FACES HERE.

WE HAVE ELIZABETH PIERCE FROM THE MUSEUM CENTER, AND WE HAVE JACKIE CONGEDO WHO'S ALSO A FORMER -- A RENTER THERE ALSO.

RIGHT?

CONGEDO: YES.

KELLAR: WHO'S HEAD OF THE HOLOCAUST CENTER, WHICH IS AT THE MUSEUM CENTER.

AND THEY HAVE A VERY, VERY IMPORTANT EXHIBIT COMING THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT AND HAVE YOU BE VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE OF WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE LIKE.

ELIZABETH, DO YOU WANT TO?

PIERCE: SURE.

SO IN OCTOBER, WE ARE BRINGING AUSCHWITZ: NOT LONG AGO, NOT FAR AWAY TO CINCINNATI UNION TERMINAL IN PARTNERSHIP TOGETHER.

SO CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER AND THE NANCY AND DAVID WOLF HOLOCAUST AND HUMANITY CENTER ARE PRESENTING THIS TO THE BROADER REGION.

AND IT'S GOT SO MANY LAYERS OF IMPACT AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION.

SO IT REALLY TELLS THE STORY OF HOW AUSCHWITZ BECAME THE DEATH CAMP THAT IT WAS, AND WHAT THE EXPERIENCES ARE THAT PEOPLE HAD THERE.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, FOR US HERE IN CINCINNATI AND OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE HOLOCAUST AND HUMANITY CENTER IS THE STORY OF THE SURVIVORS WHO CAME TO OUR COMMUNITY.

SO IT REALLY, I THINK, WALKS PEOPLE THROUGH A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THIS PERIOD IN HISTORY SO WE CAN NEVER FORGET AND WE CAN KEEP OUR EYES ON THE FUTURE.

AND WE HAVE INCREDIBLE STORIES THAT WILL RESONATE BECAUSE THEY ARE LOCAL IN SO MANY WAYS.

AND SO IT'S AN INCREDIBLE PARTNERSHIP.

UNION TERMINAL ITSELF IS A KEY PART OF THAT STORY AS WELL.

KELLAR: EXACTLY, YES.

HOW DID THE HOLOCAUST AND HUMANITY CENTER COME TO UNION TERMINAL?

PIERCE: IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY BUILD A NICE PARTNERSHIP.

SO SARAH WEISS, WHO WAS THE DIRECTOR OF THE HOLOCAUST AND HUMANITIES CENTER AT THE TIME, WHEN THEY WERE LOOKING FOR NEW SPACE.

AND SHE AND I WERE PASSING EACH OTHER REGULARLY ON OUR WAY TO SEE DICK WEILAND.

AND HE SAID, "HEY, YOU TWO SHOULD REALLY HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT A COUPLE OF THINGS."

AND SARAH AND I HAD A HANDSHAKE IN THE PARKING LOT OF THE REGENCY APARTMENT BUILDING AND SAID, "THIS IS A GOOD IDEA.

WE SHOULD DO THIS."

BECAUSE OF THE HISTORY OF UNION TERMINAL, BECAUSE OF THE HISTORY OF WELCOMING THE SURVIVORS OF THE HOLOCAUST HERE TO OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH THE BUILDING.

SO IT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.

WE'RE SO HAPPY TO HAVE THE NANCY AND DAVID WOLF HOLOCAUST AND HUMANITY CENTER INSIDE UNION TERMINAL.

IT'S ANOTHER WAY TO ILLUSTRATE THE HISTORY OF THE BUILDING.

AND AS JACKIE HAS COME INTO HER LEADERSHIP ROLE AND WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BRING THE AUSCHWITZ EXHIBITION HERE, IT'S JUST MADE FOR A VERY TIGHT PARTNERSHIP TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PRESENT THIS LARGE SCALE EXHIBITION AND ACTIVATE THE STORIES THAT ARE COMING THROUGH THE PERMANENT GALLERY AT HOLOCAUST AND HUMANITIES HUMANITY CENTER.

SO IT'S A WONDERFUL CONNECTION.

KELLAR: YEAH, FOR THOSE WHO MAY NOT EVEN KNOW IT'S THERE.

CONGEDO: RIGHT.

PIERCE: YEAH.

CONGEDO: WELL, THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US, I THINK, AS A CENTER, TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE FACT THAT AFTER THIS EXHIBITION LEAVES, WE WILL STILL BE HERE, AND WE'RE HERE LEADING UP TO IT.

KELLAR: YEAH.

WELL, JACKIE, TELL US ABOUT WHAT -- JUST TELL US ABOUT THE EXHIBIT.

CONGEDO: YEAH, SO I THINK WHAT'S SO SPECIAL, AS ELIZABETH ALLUDED TO ABOUT THIS PRESENTATION OF THIS EXHIBITION, WHICH HAS BEEN ALL OVER THE WORLD, AND, YOU KNOW, MANY DIFFERENT PLACES IN THE UNITED STATES.

THIS IS THE ONLY STOP IN THE MIDWEST.

AND, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THE LAST STOP IN THE CONTINENTAL US AND NORTH AMERICA.

BUT WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THIS PRESENTATION, THAT'S DIFFERENT THAN REALLY ANYWHERE ELSE IT'S BEEN IS THE PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE, THE NANCY AND DAVID WOLF HOLOCAUST AND HUMANITY CENTER AND THE MUSEUM CENTER.

AND AS PART OF THAT STORY, THE CONNECTION TO THE PHYSICAL SPACE.

SO UNION TERMINAL, AS SOME MAY KNOW, WAS THE SITE OF ARRIVAL FOR MANY, MANY, MANY HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS WHO REBUILT THEIR LIVES, NOT ONLY IN CINCINNATI, BUT THROUGHOUT THE BROADER REGION AND EVEN MORE BROADLY THAN THAT.

RIGHT?

THIS WAS A SORT OF CENTRAL HUB OF TRANSIT THAT WAS REALLY THE PLACE OF COMING AND GOING BOTH TO AND FROM AS REFUGEES, AS SURVIVORS, BUT ALSO AS LIBERATORS AND, YOU KNOW, SERVICE MEMBERS.

1 IN 5 SERVICE MEMBERS CAME THROUGH THAT BUILDING.

AND SO WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TELL THIS STORY IN A PLACE OF DEEP SORT OF MEANING IN THE SPACE WHERE THESE STORIES OF ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE ACTUALLY HAPPENED.

AND WE'RE LEANING INTO THAT.

SO WE ARE PLANNING A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT, IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS TO INTEGRATE THOSE LOCAL STORIES.

BUT I THINK SORT OF ONE THAT REALLY ILLUMINATES HOW WE'RE DOING THIS IS THE STORY OF WERNER KOPPEL.

WERNER WAS A SURVIVOR OF AUSCHWITZ.

HE WAS SORT OF FAMOUS FOR SAYING WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, THIS QUOTE IN OUR MUSEUM AT UNION TERMINAL.

"I ARRIVED AT UNION TERMINAL WITH A WIFE, A BABY AND A SUITCASE."

AND HE SAYS THAT, "THAT ENDED THE FIRST PART OF MY LIFE."

AND SO STEVE COPPELL, HIS SON, WILL BE HELPING US TO TELL THIS STORY.

VISITORS WILL BE ABLE TO HEAR FROM STEVE ABOUT THE FACT THAT THEY ARE STANDING IN THE BUILDING WHERE HIS FATHER, HIS FATHER'S NEW LIFE, HIS FATHER'S JOURNEY TO FREEDOM BEGAN IN CINCINNATI.

SO IT'S A REALLY SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT A VERY GLOBAL HISTORY WITH LOCAL HISTORY WITH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE AND PLACES THAT ARE RIGHT HERE, VERY CENTRAL TO US IN CINCINNATI AND MORE BROADLY IN THE REGION.

AND WE GET TO DO IT IN A WAY THAT LIFTS UP THE POTENTIAL THAT WE ALL HAVE TO BE THE BEST OF HUMANITY.

I THINK ONE OF -- PEOPLE THINK ABOUT AUSCHWITZ AS LIKE A SORT OF AN ARCHETYPAL, YOU KNOW, IDEA OF WHAT EVIL IS, THE WORST OF HUMANITY.

KELLAR: THE WORST EVIL.

CONGEDO: YEAH, THE WORST SORT OF TENDENCIES IN OUR HUMAN NATURE.

AND I THINK WHAT THIS EXHIBIT DOES REALLY POWERFULLY IS IT CONNECTS US WITH THE FACT THAT AUSCHWITZ WAS NOT OUTSIDE OF HUMANITY.

AUSCHWITZ WAS INSIDE OF HUMANITY.

AUSCHWITZ WAS MADE BY HUMAN BEINGS.

IT SERVED A PURPOSE BEFORE, RIGHT, THE CITY AND THE, YOU KNOW, THE SITE SERVED A PURPOSE BEFORE THE WAR, AND, YOU KNOW, ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE MIDDLE AGES.

PIERCE: I WAS SO SURPRISED BY THAT IN THE EXHIBITION.

IT WAS-- I JUST HADN'T THOUGHT THAT -- I HADN'T THOUGHT ABOUT AUSCHWITZ AS A PLACE PRIOR TO ITS ROLE DURING WORLD WAR II.

THEN TO UNDERSTAND KIND OF WHERE IT'S SAT GEOGRAPHICALLY, THAN IT STARTED TO MAKE SENSE AS TO WHY THEY HAD CHOSEN IT TO BE THIS PLACE.

CONGEDO: YEAH.

KELLAR: WHAT WAS IT BEFORE?

PIERCE: SOME MEDIEVAL CITY, AND IT SAT IN KIND OF THIS ECONOMIC CROSSROADS.

AND SO WHICH IS, OF COURSE, BECAUSE IT WAS CENTRALLY LOCATED AND IN ONE OF THOSE TRADE -- CONGEDO: TRADE ROUTES AND THEN TRAIN ROUTES.

KELLAR: DID THE TRAIN ALREADY -- THAT WAS ALREADY THERE.

PIERCE: YEAH.

KELLAR: MAYBE THAT'S WHY THEY BUILT THE CAMP RIGHT THERE.

CONGEDO: YES.

THIS WAS PART OF THE REASON FOR THE SELECTION OF THAT SITE.

KELLAR: THERE'S A CITY CALLED AUSCHWITZ?

PIERCE: YES.

KELLAR: I DON'T -- I THOUGHT IT WAS -- DID YOU NOT THINK THAT?

PIERCE: IT JUST -- IT HADN'T OCCURRED TO ME THAT IT HAD BEEN A THRIVING PLACE PRIOR TO WHAT WE KNOW IT AS NOW.

AND AS YOU'RE SAYING.

CONGEDO: WITH A JEWISH COMMUNITY.

PIERCE: THE CAMP IS HAPPENING, THE CONCENTRATION CAMP, THE DEATH OF PEOPLE IS HAPPENING RIGHT NEXT TO THIS COMMUNITY.

AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S IN PROXIMITY, LIKE WE WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, HERE IN CINCINNATI AND IT'S HAPPENING IN HYDE PARK, LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT'S RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER AND PEOPLE ARE WORKING IN THE CAMP AND GOING HOME TO THEIR JOBS EVERY DAY WHILE THESE UNSPEAKABLE THINGS ARE HAPPENING.

SO THE NOTION OF LIKE IT IS INTERWOVEN WITH THE COMMUNITY.

AND THEN THERE IS THIS SURVIVAL STORY THAT COMES OUT OF IT.

CONGEDO: YEAH.

AND I THINK THAT'S -- SO THAT'S AN IMPORTANT THING TO HOLD AS WE THINK ABOUT HOW ATROCITIES LIKE THIS HAPPEN, IS THAT IT DID HAPPEN WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF WHAT HUMAN BEINGS ARE CAPABLE OF.

AT THE HOLOCAUST AND HUMANITY CENTER, THOUGH, WE ARE ABLE TO SHARE, I WOULD SAY, SORT OF THE FLIP SIDE TO THAT COIN, WHICH IS WE ARE ALL ALSO POSSIBLE OF WONDERFUL THINGS AND POSITIVE, POSITIVE HUMANITY.

RIGHT?

WE'RE ALL CAPABLE OF, I'M SORRY, POSITIVE HUMANITY.

AND SO WHAT DOES IT -- WHAT DOES, IF WE IF WE EXAMINE AUSCHWITZ AND THE HOLOCAUST AS SORT OF AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORST OF HUMAN NATURE, WHAT DOES THE BEST OF HUMAN NATURE LOOK LIKE?

HOW DO WE NOT JUST SAY, "WELL, WE DON'T WANT TO BE THE WORST?"

HOW CAN WE ACTUALLY CHANNEL THE BEST IN OUR OWN POTENTIAL AND OUR CHARACTER STRENGTHS TODAY?

SO WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO INFUSE THIS EXPERIENCE, I THINK, IN A WAY THAT HELPS PEOPLE COME TO TERMS WITH THE FACT THAT THIS WAS NOT SOMETHING BUILT BY SOME EVIL ALIEN.

THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS A PROJECT.

IT WAS A HUMAN PROJECT.

KELLAR: YEAH, I WANTED TO INTERJECT THAT THE RECENT MOVIE, THE ZONE OF INTEREST, IS A PERFECT -- THEY MUST -- PEOPLE MUST WATCH THAT MOVIE.

IT'S ABOUT THE COMMANDANT'S HOUSE WAS RIGHT NEXT.

AND THERE WAS A NOT A VERY HIGH WALL.

AND THIS IS FOR REAL?

CONGEDO: YES.

KELLAR: THIS IS STILL, THE HOUSE STILL EXISTS.

IT WAS ON FOR SALE RECENTLY.

I READ IN THE NEW YORK TIMES A WOMAN HAD BEEN LIVING IN THAT COMMANDANT'S HOUSE THAT'S IN THE MOVIE.

AND IT SHOWS NOTHING OF THE CAMP, BUT THE DAILY LIFE OF THE COMMANDANT AND HIS WIFE.

PIERCE: SO SOME OF THE ARTIFACTS FROM THAT, FROM THAT TIME AND FROM THOSE PEOPLE ARE IN THE EXHIBITION.

AND IT'S KIND OF A CLASSIC MUSEUM EXHIBITION WHERE WE HAVE 500 OBJECTS THAT ARE ON DISPLAY WITH.

AND THIS IS ALL COMING FROM THE MUSEUM AT THE AUSCHWITZ STATE BIRKENAU MUSEUM.

AND SO AUDIO GUIDE IS GOING TO LEAD YOU THROUGH SOME OF THESE STORIES.

AND AS YOU GO THROUGH IT, YOU WILL HAVE THIS EMOTIONAL DEPTH TO THINGS AND THINK, "WELL, WHAT CAN I DO?

OR HOW CAN I, YOU KNOW, HOW DO I PROCESS THESE FEELINGS?"

AND THE BEAUTY OF THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE WORK THAT HAPPENS IN THE HUMANITY GALLERY IS THAT IT GIVES AN OUTLET.

CONGEDO: THERE'S TOOLS.

PIERCE: RIGHT, TO HELP UNDERSTAND IT AND THEN HELP HOW TO KIND OF BUILD ON THAT.

CONGEDO: YEAH, SO IN TALKING ABOUT ZONE OF INTEREST.

WE WERE TALKING WITH THE CURATORS AND I HAD A CHANCE TO SEE THIS.

I KNOW ELIZABETH SEEN IT, AND I'VE HAD A -- I RECENTLY HAD A CHANCE TO SEE IT.

IT'S NOW IN TORONTO.

IT WILL BE CLOSING THERE BEFORE IT COMES HERE.

AND SOME OF THE CURATORS AND THE SCHOLARS WHO WORKED TO PUT THIS TOGETHER SPOKE WITH US.

AND ONE OF THEM WAS SHARING ABOUT HOW, IF YOU REMEMBER IN THAT FILM, THERE'S A SCENE WHERE SHE HAS A, LIKE, A VERY FINE COAT.

KELLAR: A MINK COAT THAT SHE GOT FROM ONE OF THE PEOPLE.

CONGEDO: THAT'S RIGHT.

YEAH.

AND SO, THERE IS THIS -- THERE'S MANY, MANY BUTTONS, A COLLECTION OF BUTTONS IN THIS EXHIBITION.

AND THE BUTTONS CAME OFF OF THESE PIECES OF CLOTHING BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE TO -- SHE HAD ALL OF THE CLOTHING THAT SHE WOULD, YOU KNOW, KEEP FOR HERSELF CLEANED.

AND SHE DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE TO CONFRONT THE FACT THAT A HUMAN BEING HAD TOUCHED THAT BUTTON AND TAKEN IT OFF, AND THE HUMANITY OF THAT.

AND SO SOMETHING EVEN IN HER EVEN, YOU KNOW, THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT THIS ATROCITY WAS.

PIERCE: IT WAS WRONG TO BEGIN WITH.

CONGEDO: IT WAS WRONG.

SHE WAS HOLDING, EVEN AS SHE WAS ADJACENT, PARTICIPATING IN SOME WAY.

SO, YOU KNOW, I JUST THINK THAT'S THE LAYERS THAT ARE PART OF THIS EXHIBITION THAT PEOPLE CAN WRESTLE WITH THE LAYERS OF HUMANITY, THE LAYERS OF SORT OF, YOU KNOW, COMPLEXITY IN THIS THAT ARE REALLY IMPORTANT.

BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE LOOK AT THINGS THROUGH A BLACK AND WHITE LENS, WE MISS THE LESSONS, WE MISS THE LESSONS FOR OURSELVES AND FOR TODAY.

AND I THINK THAT THIS EXHIBITION REALLY POWERFULLY, THE AUDIO TOUR BEAUTIFULLY CONNECTS PEOPLE WITH THE LAYERS OF HUMANITY AND INHUMANITY AS PART OF THIS EXPERIENCE.

KELLAR: DO YOU -- WHAT AGE CHILDREN WOULD BE -- WOULD THIS BE APPROPRIATE FOR?

CONGEDO: SO WE, YEAH, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

I MEAN, WE DON'T RECOMMEND, HOLOCAUST EDUCATION BEST PRACTICES AND HOLOCAUST EDUCATION ARE REALLY NO YOUNGER THAN SIXTH GRADE.

A VERY MATURE FIFTH GRADER SOMETIMES, IF THAT'S BEEN INTRODUCED IN ADVANCE.

BUT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE KIND OF MATERIAL AND TOPICS THAT STUDIES DO SHOW, YOU KNOW, THERE IS SUCH A THING AS TOO EARLY.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE RECOMMEND MIDDLE SCHOOL TO START.

KELLAR: A FEW YEARS AGO I WAS INVOLVED WITH HAVING PEOPLE, SURVIVORS COME TO THE SCHOOLS.

CONGEDO: YES.

KELLAR: ONE CAME TO COUNTRY DAY, AND SO I WENT.

AND THEY TOLD THEIR OWN PERSONAL STORIES.

OF COURSE, AS THEY ARE GETTING FEWER AND FEWER AND FEWER OF BEING POSSIBLE.

BUT THAT WAS AN UNBELIEVABLE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE KIDS TO SEE A REAL PERSON WHO EXPERIENCED THIS.

BUT OF COURSE, WE'RE LOSING MOST OF THAT.

AND SO SIXTH GRADE.

DO YOU HAVE SOME -- ARE THERE LIKE TOUR GUIDES?

CONGEDO: SO THE EXPERIENCE ITSELF IS REALLY GROUNDED IN AN AUDIO TOUR EXPERIENCE.

AND SO, BUT WE DO -- WE ARE ANTICIPATING THAT PEOPLE WILL NEED SPACES TO PROCESS AND UNPACK WHAT THEY'VE LEARNED AND EXPERIENCED.

AND SO, WE WILL HAVE SOME SPECIAL EXPERIENCES ALONG WITH THE EXHIBITION RUN, THE SIX MONTHS THAT IT WILL BE AT UNION TERMINAL.

WE WILL ALSO HAVE SOME REGULAR DEBRIEFS USING SOME OF THE SPACES IN THE BUILDING TO SO THAT FOLKS WHO ARE COMING, YOU KNOW, GET THEIR TIMED TICKET CAN STOP BY AFTERWARDS AND SIT AND PROCESS AND UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT, "OKAY, WELL, IF I HAVE THIS BURNING FEELING INSIDE ME ABOUT, YOU KNOW, I NEED TO DO SOMETHING, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TO DO SOMETHING?

HOW SHOULD I CHANNEL MY OWN CHARACTER STRENGTHS?"

SO WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT.

PIERCE: I THINK WE'RE TRYING TO PACKAGE IT SO STUDENTS, STUDENT GROUPS CAN GO THROUGH THE EXHIBITION, POTENTIALLY HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH A SURVIVOR OR SOMEONE CONNECTED TO A SURVIVOR.

AND THEN ALSO HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND TIME IN THE HUMANITY GALLERY AT HHC SO THEY GET A FULL PICTURE OF IT.

AND IF SCHOOLS AREN'T ABLE TO DO THAT, THERE ARE A LOT OF RESOURCES, AND RESOURCES THAT WE'RE PROVIDING TO REGULAR TICKET PURCHASERS.

LIKE HOW TO PREPARE TO COME TO THE EXHIBITION.

YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY WE WANT PEOPLE TO COME AND SEE THE FULL EXPERIENCE AT JACKIE'S PLACE AND HEAR SOME OF THOSE STORIES AND THEN HAVE A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF IT.

BUT THERE'S A PRE AND POST VISIT, YOU KNOW, CURRICULUM MAYBE TOO STRONG OF A WORD.

CONGEDO: YES, SOME WRAPAROUND RESOURCES THAT CAN HELP TO CONTEXTUALIZE IT APPROPRIATELY.

I'LL ALSO JUST SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THE STORY OF WHAT HAPPENED AT AUSCHWITZ IS A-- THERE'S MANY DEHUMANIZING ELEMENTS IN IT.

AND SO WHAT WE HAVE BUILT AT UNION TERMINAL IN THE HOLOCAUST AND HUMANITY HUMANITIES CENTER, I THINK DOES A REALLY GOOD JOB LOCALIZING AND HUMANIZING IT.

SO TO ELIZABETH'S POINT, WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY TELL THAT FULL STORY.

RIGHT?

THE PEOPLE SHOULD COME.

THEY SHOULD EXPERIENCE THE AUSCHWITZ EXHIBITION, WHICH REALLY, YOU KNOW, SOME HAVE SAID IS THE CLOSEST THING TO ACTUALLY BEING ABLE TO GO TO POLAND AND SEE THE SITE FOR YOURSELF.

SO FOR FOLKS WHO ARE NEVER GOING TO MAKE IT OVER THERE, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE SOME OF THOSE, THAT SAME AWARENESS.

AND THEY SHOULD COME TO THE HOLOCAUST AND HUMANITIES CENTER TO UNDERSTAND THESE WERE LOCAL PEOPLE.

WHAT DID IT TAKE TO REBUILD?

HOW CAN WE THINK ABOUT CHANNELING OUR OWN CHARACTER STRENGTHS TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE LESSONS LIVE OUT IN OUR TIME?

KELLAR: YEAH.

HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM WHAT IS THE PERMANENT EXHIBIT?

CONGEDO: THE HOLOCAUST AND HUMANITY CENTER PERMANENTLY?

YEAH.

SO I THINK THAT IT'S VERY COMPLEMENTARY TO WHAT WE OFFER AT HHC.

THIS IS A, I WOULD SAY, A REAL FOCUS ON EXPLORING AND UNPACKING THIS PLACE THAT HAS BECOME SORT OF SYNONYMOUS WITH THE HOLOCAUST, THAT HAS BECOME SYNONYMOUS WITH THE WORST IN HUMANITY AND UNDERSTANDING, AGAIN, THE FULL NARRATIVE AROUND WHAT THAT PLACE WAS BEFORE THE WAR.

YOU KNOW, UNPACKING THE EXPERIENCES THAT PEOPLE HAD THERE, AND OF COURSE, THE LEGACY OF THAT PLACE.

OUR PERMANENT EXHIBITION AT UNION TERMINAL IS -- HAS THE MISSION OF LESSONS OF THE HISTORY TO INSPIRE ACTION TODAY.

AND SO IT'S REALLY GROUNDED IN THE LOCAL STORIES.

YOU CAN TRACE THIS HISTORY, NOT IN SUCH A FACT FORWARD, HISTORY FORWARD WAY, BUT BY FOLLOWING A LOCAL PERSON WHO SURVIVED IT.

AND THEN WE HAVE THIS WHOLE, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL COMPONENT OF THE HUMANITY GALLERY THAT WE HAVE.

KELLAR: WHEN I SAW AN AERIAL PHOTO OF THE ENTIRE CAMP, BEFORE I SAW THAT PHOTO, I HAD NO IDEA OF THE SIZE.

CONGEDO: THE SCALE.

KELLAR: THE SIZE OF IT, THAT THEY -- THAT THERE WERE HUMAN BEINGS IN-- I DON'T HAVE ANY CONCEPT OF HOW MANY BARRACKS THERE WERE THERE, BUT THE SIZE OF IT IS OVERWHELMING.

PIERCE: YEAH, I THINK THIS EXHIBITION IS GOING TO SURPRISE MANY PEOPLE THE WAY YOU ARE, AND IT HAS ENOUGH BACKGROUND UNDERSTANDING AND EXPLANATION OF HOW THE NAZIS CREATED THIS PLACE AND THE DOCUMENTATION THAT WENT ALONG.

SO THERE'S REALLY NO WAY TO REFUTE WHAT THEY WERE TRYING TO DO.

THEY'RE VERY CLEAR ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO.

AND SO I THINK THAT BUILDS THE CASE FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND.

AND HAVE THEIR MINDS BOGGLED A LITTLE BIT LIKE, "I CAN'T BELIEVE HUMANS DID THIS TO OTHER HUMANS."

KELLAR: YEAH.

CONGEDO: YEAH, THE EXHIBITION DOES A, I THINK, A GOOD JOB AT REALLY ILLUMINATING THE SCOPE AND SCALE AND THE INTENTIONALITY OF THIS, YOU KNOW, THAT THERE WAS GREAT THOUGHT AND DELIBERATION THAT WENT INTO EVERY -- KELLAR: SCIENCE.

DEVELOPING WHAT GAS THEY WOULD USE.

CONGEDO: AND YEAH, I MEAN, DOWN TO THE MECHANISMS OF HOW ALL OF THAT WAS GOING TO RUN AND HOW QUICKLY AND HOW MANY.

AND I MEAN, IT IS-- IT'S THE KIND OF THING THAT MAKES YOU WANT TO RECOIL IN, LIKE, "HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED?"

BECAUSE IT'S SO -- IT'S JUST IMPOSSIBLE.

IT'S SO HARD TO CONCEIVE OF.

KELLAR: AND I STILL CAN'T, AT MY AGE, I STILL.

AND I'VE READ EVERYTHING IMAGINABLE ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST, AND I STILL CAN'T WRAP MY MIND AROUND IT.

CONGEDO: I THINK THAT THIS EXHIBITION DOES A GOOD JOB OF HELPING TO PEEL BACK THE LAYERS OF HOW THE HOLOCAUST WAS COMMITTED BY ORDINARY PEOPLE WHO HAD MUNDANE MOTIVATIONS IN DAY TO DAY CHOICES AND MOMENTS.

AND YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENED AT AUSCHWITZ IS AN EXAMPLE OF THAT.

THE SCALE OF WHAT HAPPENED AT AUSCHWITZ COULD NOT -- IT WASN'T ONE PERSON.

IT WASN'T ONE MOMENT.

IT WAS MANY, MANY, MANY PEOPLE IN MANY MOMENTS THAT LED TO THIS ATROCITY.

KELLAR: I THINK TODAY WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT IT, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE FACED WITH SUCH HORRENDOUS ANTI-SEMITISM.

CONGEDO: YEAH.

KELLAR: AND THAT THAT CAN LEAD TO SOMETHING LIKE AUSCHWITZ.

PIERCE: YES.

KELLAR: AND LEFT UNCHECKED, WHO KNOWS HOW -- WHAT CAN HAPPEN.

THIS HAPPENED IN MY LIFETIME.

NOT YOURS, BUT IT HAPPENED IN MY LIFETIME.

PIERCE: I THINK THERE'S ALSO AN INTERESTING THING THAT CINCINNATI HAS, RIGHT?

THE JEWISH COMMUNITY HAS BEEN IN CINCINNATI FOR 200 YEARS.

IN FACT, WE WERE IN LOUISVILLE HAVING A DISCUSSION.

AND THE PEOPLE IN LOUISVILLE WERE SAYING, "NO, NO, OUR JEWISH COMMUNITY IS OLDER THAN YOUR JEWISH COMMUNITY."

AND TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS THIS INCREDIBLE DEPTH OF CONNECTION WITH THE JEWISH COMMUNITY HERE IN CINCINNATI AND LAYERS OF AND WAVES OF IMMIGRATION THAT HAVE COME THROUGH CINCINNATI, BRINGING ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE FROM ENGLAND AND GERMANY AND OTHER PARTS OF EUROPE, AND CERTAINLY MORE IMMIGRATION COMING TODAY THAT WE SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT THERE HAS BEEN THIS RELATIONSHIP AND SUCCESS OF JEWISH CINCINNATI FOR MANY YEARS PRECEDING THE HOLOCAUST.

AND SO THAT THE TWO THINGS ARE NOT SYNONYMOUS WITH ONE ANOTHER.

AND PEOPLE WHO WERE ARRIVING IN UNION TERMINAL IN YOUR LIFETIME IN THE '40S AND '50S WERE COMING TO CREATE A NEW CHAPTER IN THAT STORY.

CONGEDO: YEAH.

KELLAR: I JUST TAKE ONE LITTLE TIDBIT.

DURING THE WAR, OF COURSE, I WAS A YOUNG CHILD AND WE HAD TO TAKE A TRAIN.

I DON'T KNOW, HAVE NO IDEA WHERE WE WERE GOING, BUT THE TRAINS WERE FILLED WITH SERVICEMEN FILLED CONGEDO: FROM UNION TERMINAL.

KELLAR: YEAH, FROM UNION TERMINAL.

AND I STILL REMEMBER THAT BECAUSE YOU PUT YOUR SUITCASE WHEREVER YOU COULD.

AND THEN THE SERVICEMEN SAT ON THE SUITCASES.

AND THEN WE SAT ON THEIR LAPS THE WHOLE TRIP.

AND I DON'T REMEMBER WHERE WE WERE GOING, BUT I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT.

IT WAS JUST PEOPLE, THERE WERE SO MANY OF THEM GOING AND COMING AND I GUESS COMING HOME AND THEN GOING.

I DON'T KNOW, BUT I STILL REMEMBER THAT TRIP AND HOW I SAT ON THIS SERVICEMAN'S LAP.

PIERCE: WELL, WHAT YOU WERE SAYING EARLIER, THINK ABOUT IT.

1 IN 5 SERVICE MEMBERS CAME THROUGH UNION TERMINAL DURING WORLD WAR II, AND MANY OF THEM WERE GOING TO EUROPE AND WERE PART OF THE LIBERATION, AND OTHERS WERE GOING TO THE PACIFIC THEATER AND ALL MIXED TOGETHER.

SO THIS IS ALSO ONE OF THE REASONS WE WERE ADAMANT THAT THE EXHIBITION HAD TO COME TO CINCINNATI, HAD TO BE INSIDE UNION TERMINAL BECAUSE OF ITS CONNECTION TO THE HISTORY.

SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE EXHIBITION IS SOMETHING THAT EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC CONNECTION TO JEWISH CINCINNATI OR A SURVIVOR, YOU PROBABLY HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS WHO WERE PARTICIPATING IN WORLD WAR II, WHO WERE SERVICEMEN DURING THAT TIME PERIOD.

SO IT'S AN EXHIBITION THAT HAS UNIVERSAL MEANING ACROSS THE BOARD.

KELLAR: YEAH.

SO THE EXHIBIT LASTS UNTIL APRIL?

CONGEDO: YES.

YEAH, IT'LL BE WITH US SIX, SEVEN MONTHS.

PIERCE: OCTOBER THROUGH APRIL.

KELLAR: AND THERE'S ALWAYS A SPECIAL FEE, RIGHT, WHEN YOU HAVE SPECIAL EXHIBITS?

PIERCE: YES, DEFINITELY, BECAUSE THIS IS AN EXPENSIVE EXHIBITION TO BRING IN.

SO THERE ARE, THE WEBSITE WILL HAVE ALL THE DETAILS ABOUT THE TICKET PRICING AND IF THERE ARE AAA DISCOUNTS OR THINGS LIKE THAT.

AND WE'VE DONE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF FUNDRAISING TO MAKE SCHOOL VISITS FREE OF CHARGE.

KELLAR: OH, GOOD.

PIERCE: SO THE COMMUNITY HAS STEPPED UP IN A VERY SIGNIFICANT WAY TO HELP SUPPORT THAT.

AND SO STUDENT VISITS, STUDENT GROUP VISITS ARE FREE.

BUT WE WILL.

KELLAR: ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE RESPONSE OF PEOPLE WANTING TO, LIKE SCHOOLS, WANTING TO -- PIERCE: ABSOLUTELY.

AND WE MADE THE ANNOUNCEMENT LAST JANUARY THAT WE WOULD BE BRINGING THE EXHIBITION IN ON HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY.

AND THE RESPONSE EARLY ON WAS VERY STRONG.

AND THEN CERTAINLY BECAUSE HOLOCAUST AND HUMANITY CENTER DOES THE UPSTANDER MONTH IN JUNE, THERE'S BEEN MORE ATTENTION AND AWARENESS OF IT.

AND JESSE EISENBERG CAME IN AND SPOKE ABOUT IT BECAUSE OF HIS CONNECTIONS TO IT AND THE WRITING OF HIS LATEST FILM.

SO THERE HAVE JUST BEEN THESE MOMENTS OF MOMENTUM, I GUESS, TO SAY, OR POINTS THAT WE CAN BUILD MOMENTUM.

BUT WE DEFINITELY WANT PEOPLE TO BE AWARE OF IT.

AND, YOU KNOW, THE CLASSIC THING IS WE DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO WAIT TILL THE LAST MINUTE, BECAUSE, REMEMBER, LIKE, THERE WERE PEOPLE THAT WERE TRYING TO SCALP TICKETS TO THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS THE LAST DAY THAT IT WAS HERE.

SO, YOU KNOW, PLAN AHEAD AND, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE FAMILY COMING TO TOWN IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, THAT IS A MEANINGFUL FAMILY MEMORY TO COME TO THE EXHIBITION AND THEN HAVE IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS AT THE DINNER TABLE LATER ON.

AND, YOU KNOW, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO SURFACE AS YOU START TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT DID GRANDPA DO?

OR WHAT'S YOUR MEMORY OF THIS BUILDING?

AND I THINK THAT'S A GREAT WAY TO HAVE A HOLIDAY EXPERIENCE WITH YOUR FAMILY.

AND CERTAINLY THEN INTO JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, THERE WILL BE MORE PROGRAMS.

KELLAR: YEAH.

AND I THINK, IF THEY HAVE GRANDPARENTS AROUND, JUST TALK ABOUT WHAT THEIR WAR MEMORIES ARE.

BECAUSE I'M SURE PEOPLE MY -- PEOPLE MY AGE, OLD PEOPLE, THOSE OF US WHO HAVE MEMORIES OF THE WAR, I THINK IT'S REALLY A MEANINGFUL THING FOR FAMILIES TO TALK ABOUT INSTEAD OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S ON TV OR WHATEVER.

THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH.

PIERCE: THANK YOU.

KELLAR: THIS IS AN IMPORTANT THING THAT YOU'RE DOING.

YOU TWO ARE JUST TERRIFIC, ABSOLUTELY.

PIERCE: WE ARE -- WE ENJOY WORKING WITH EACH OTHER, AND WE ARE EXCITED TO HAVE THIS IMPORTANT EXHIBITION HERE.

KELLAR: AND DOING GOOD THINGS FOR CINCINNATI.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

BOTH: THANK YOU.

ANNOUNCER: JOIN US NEXT WEEK FOR ANOTHER EPISODE OF SHOWCASE WITH BARBARA KELLAR RIGHT HERE ON CET.

CAPTIONS: MAVERICK CAPTIONING CIN OH MAVERICKCAPTIONING.COM