To the Editor:

I encourage all area residents to visit the Americans and the Holocaust exhibit at the Ellinwood School/Community Library. The special display began Dec. 5 and ends Jan. 10.

The exhibit is from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. It will be displayed in only 50 libraries across the nation. It is the rarest of opportunities to see a national level historic presentation of international importance.

There is also a display of items from the Camp Concordia German POW Camp which held over 4,000 prisoners at its peak. There are local World War II items from the Museum of Ellinwood and additional related items including newspaper accounts of the 2016 presentation at Ellinwood school by Marion Blumenthal Lazan. She lived through persecution, concentration camp imprisonment, and the death of family members. At one point in her presentation, she reached into a bag and held up the actual star she was required to wear as a young Jewish girl in Nazi Germany. It was a moment that was just too much. The Americans and the Holocaust exhibit is filled with such moments.

Over 400,000 Americans died in World War II to end the terror of the Axis powers. For me, being an American requires honoring this heritage and making this history part of how we live today. Please do not miss out on this opportunity. It is a more than worthwhile experience that changes us for the better.

Normal exhibit hours are Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Due to the holidays, the exhibit and library close at 4 p.m. on Dec. 23 and are closed on Dec. 24-28, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. Please visit the Ellinwood School/Community Library Facebook page for more details.

John Sturn

Ellinwood, KS 67526