Ferris Fine Art Gallery at Ferris State University is honored to present a brand-new traveling exhibition from the Zekelman Holocaust Center, on view from January 5–23, 2026. This powerful exhibition invites viewers to confront the history of the Holocaust while also bearing witness to the enduring human capacity for resistance, creativity, and moral courage.

The exhibition unfolds in two interconnected components. The first provides a comprehensive historical account tracing the rise of the Nazi Party, the expansion of state-sponsored policing and surveillance, the establishment of concentration and extermination camps, and the eventual liberation of Europe. Through photographs, documents, and interpretive texts, this section situates the Holocaust within its broader political and social contexts, emphasizing how ordinary systems and institutions were weaponized to enable mass persecution and genocide.

The second component focuses on art as resistance. In the face of dehumanization, imprisonment, and death, individuals continued to create—drawing, writing, composing, and imagining as acts of defiance and survival. These works assert humanity where it was systematically denied and reveal art, not as a luxury, but as a vital means of preserving identity, memory, and hope. Together, these creative expressions challenge viewers to consider the power of art to resist oppression and to communicate truths that history alone cannot fully convey.

By presenting historical evidence alongside artistic response, this exhibition underscores the importance of remembrance and critical engagement. It calls upon audiences to reflect on the consequences of hatred and indifference, and to recognize their own responsibility in confronting injustice today. The Ferris Fine Art Gallery is proud to host this exhibition as a space for education, reflection, and dialogue, ensuring that the lessons of the Holocaust continue to resonate with new generations.