The Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center opened two new galleries in June that trace antisemitism from ancient times to today.
“There is a shocking rise in anti-Semitism. So, we felt that we could not ignore it and it needed to be focused on and needed to be explained,” said Erin Blankenship, the museum’s president and CEO. Blankenship also wants visitors to leave with different examples, so they can recognize antisemitism in their own communities and speak out.
The displays include a large wall covered in illustrations and copy of “The International Jew,” at its center. This was a collection of articles from the 1920s, funded and distributed by Henry Ford. Cody Rademacher, the museum’s curator, said Ford’s articles presented myths and stereotypes as facts.
“He was pulling from stuff already made, stuff that had already been debunked, but was still seen as usable by him to further demonize the American Jewish community and led to him being a bit of an inspiration to Adolf Hitler himself.” Rademacher said.
Another wall showed modern examples, including a 2025 hate crime at a local Chabad. An interactive section lets visitors lift panels to compare contemporary versions of old stereotypes with the originals. Rademacher emphasized that the Nazis did not invent antisemitism.
“Hatred doesn’t come from just out of nowhere. It’s usually learned and built upon using tropes, using stereotypes, othering techniques, eventually saying that ‘these people are so dangerous to who you are — that we must eliminate them, we must destroy them in whole,’” Rademacher added.
The exhibits trace that progression from demonization to the murder of more than 6 million Jews. The museum’s section on modern genocides shows the same patterns continuing after the Holocaust, he said.
“It’s only through societies actively opposing and rebuking that hatred that we don’t see them ultimately gaining ground,” Rademacher said.
The Holocaust Museum & Cohen Education Center is open Tuesday through Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, visit their website.
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