The story of how Southbury stood up to fascism in 1937 is being featured in a traveling exhibit hosted by the Meriden Public Library this month.
The exhibit, Americans and the Holocaust, is organized by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association (ALA) and runs through Sunday, November 9.
The Meriden Public Library is one of 50 libraries nationwide chosen to display the exhibit, made possible through a grant awarded by the ALA and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Two special programs will be held this month to highlight Southbury’s history and its response to Nazism in the 1930s and 1940s.
On Wednesday, October 15, at 6:30 p.m., former First Selectman Ed Edelson will screen the original 40-minute documentary “Home of the Brave: When Southbury Said NO to the Nazis” which premiered in 2012 and was directed by Scott Sniffen. Edelson will also provide commentary and answer questions about how the documentary came about.
On Wednesday, October 29, at 6:30 p.m., a roundtable discussion regarding the relevance of the Southbury story will take place, moderated by Chris Gardner. Gardner helped bring the story to public attention with some of his previous reporting.
The original documentary will also be shown on Connecticut Public Television this month.
The documentary will air on Monday, October 20 (9:00 p.m.), Tuesday, October 21 (2:30 a.m.), Wednesday, October 22 (4:30 a.m.), and Thursday, October 23 (11:30 p.m.). This marks the first time the documentary will air on CPTV since 2013.
“I thought this would be a good time to bring the story to people who were not living in Connecticut a dozen years ago and to highlight the Meriden Library exhibit,” said Edelson.
Dr. Rebecca Erbelding of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum was one of the lead historians on the multi-year project to create the exhibit at the museum, as well as the traveling version that is hosted in libraries throughout the country.
She says the exhibit will help visitors explore what average Americans and Nutmeggers could have known about the Holocaust as it was happening, and how they responded.
“We are very excited that the Americans and the Holocaust traveling exhibition will be at the Meriden Public Library,” said Dr. Erbelding. “The library has organized some engaging public programs, including highlighting the story of Southbury, CT, and the town’s fight against the pro-Nazi German-American Bund in 1937.”
Following a highly successful tour of 50 libraries from 2021 to 2023, the touring library exhibition will travel to an additional 50 libraries in the country from 2024 to 2026.
Americans and the Holocaust: A Traveling Exhibit for Libraries will be on display at the Meriden Public Library, along with a series of related special events, from September 28, 2025, to November 9, 2025.
“We are so proud to be selected from a competitive pool of applicants from all across the nation to host this important and powerful exhibition,” said Meriden Public Library Director Becky Starr. “We encourage community members to come explore it, and we’re excited to be partnering with our local schools, as well. The exhibition will challenge people to not only ask, ‘What would I have done?’ but also, ‘What will I do?’”
The Meriden Public Library is located at 105 Miller Street in Meriden.
The Southbury Record 