A story buried beneath the rubble of war and silence will take center stage in Grants Pass this month as Josephine Community Library partners with the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education to present a two-part public program focused on preserving Holocaust history through firsthand testimony, hidden archives, and personal memory.
Titled “The Holocaust Remembered: ‘Who Will Write Our History,’” the educational series brings together film, historical analysis, and community discussion in an effort to examine one of history’s darkest chapters through the voices of those who lived it. The program is designed not only to revisit the horrors of the Holocaust itself, but also to explore the risks taken by ordinary people who worked to preserve evidence of what was happening around them while much of the world remained unaware.
The first event in the series will take place Thursday evening, May 14, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center at Grants Pass High School. Community members will gather for a screening of the documentary “Who Will Write Our History,” directed by filmmaker Roberta Grossman and inspired by historian Samuel Kassow’s acclaimed book examining the hidden archive created inside the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II.
The documentary tells the story of a clandestine group of Jewish scholars, writers, and citizens who secretly documented life inside the Warsaw Ghetto as Nazi occupation tightened its grip across Poland. Rather than allowing their experiences to disappear into mass graves and destroyed neighborhoods, members of the underground archive worked to preserve diaries, photographs, letters, essays, newspapers, and personal observations. Many of those records were hidden in metal boxes and milk cans beneath the streets before thousands of residents were deported or killed.
The archive, later recovered after the war, became one of the most significant collections of firsthand Holocaust documentation ever discovered.
Organizers say the program offers audiences an opportunity to understand the Holocaust not only through statistics and timelines, but through individual human experiences recorded in real time by people who understood that future generations might one day need proof of what had happened.
A second event will follow one week later on Thursday, May 21, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Josephine Community Library branch in Grants Pass. The discussion session will feature former Oregon History Teacher of the Year Lois MacMillan alongside Regional Museum Educator Heidi Kaufman, Ph.D., from the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education. Together, they will lead a community conversation examining the importance of primary sources, historical accountability, and the responsibility of preserving difficult truths across generations.
Library officials say attendees are welcome to participate in either event independently or attend both programs as a complete educational experience. Admission is free, and no library card is required.
The timing of the series arrives amid growing national conversations surrounding historical literacy, the preservation of archival records, and the increasing concern among educators and historians over the fading availability of firsthand Holocaust testimony as survivor populations continue to age.
For Josephine County residents, the series also reflects a broader effort by local libraries to expand programming beyond traditional book lending by offering public forums centered on education, civic awareness, and cultural understanding.
In addition to the live events, both Kassow’s book and the documentary DVD are currently available for checkout through Josephine Community Library for patrons wishing to continue exploring the subject after the presentations conclude.
The program series received support in part through the 2026 Oregon Humanities Mini Grant for Libraries, helping make the events accessible to the broader public without admission fees.
Additional information about the upcoming Holocaust education series, library services, and future community programming can be found through Josephine Community Library, or by contacting the library directly at 541-476-0571.