Auschwitz Exhibition Extends in Kansas City After Breaking Records

Auschwitz Exhibition

Auschwitz exhibition extends its stay in Kansas City after breaking all attendance records

· The exhibition will stay at Union Station Kansas City through March 20, 2022.

· More than 260,000 people and 20,000 students have already visited the exhibition.

· Artifacts from local survivor, Sonia Warshawski, will be added to exhibition.

Kansas City, MO – November 12, 2021 – Today, the unprecedented extension of the Auschwitz exhibition in Kansas City was announced, through March, 2022, after the recent news that the exhibition will travel back to Europe (specifically Malmö, Sweden) after leaving Kansas City.

Since opening, the exhibition, it has been embraced by nearly 260,000 guests who have either visited or secured tickets to visit. A total attendance of over 300,000 is expected by the time the tour closes at Union Station, number that will mark an all-time record for touring exhibitions at Kansas City’s historic home for the last 20 years.

Also, nearly 20,000 middle and high school students have already visited, close to the the over 30,000 students that are expected in total.

“Many people have asked us Why Kansas City?’,” Exhibition Director and Musealia CEO, Luis Ferreiro, said. “Initially, we hoped it would bring guests from around the region, but we have since been amazed by the embrace of the exhibition not only from the community but far beyond. The exhibition has drawn guests from every state and multiple countries. The pace of ticket sales is beyond what we expected. And this has validated our choice in selecting Union Station as the host of the exhibition. There is something special, honest, and genuine about the Midwest and we’re seeing it and feeling it in a remarkable way as guests visit the exhibition in Kansas City.”

Additionally, a persistent desire by local guests to know more about local Holocaust survivors is being answered with the addition of several precious and priceless artifacts (a scarf and comb) to the exhibition by Sonia Warshawski, herself a survivor of Auschwitz and the subject of the award-winning documentary, “Big Sonia”.

“I am thrilled to display my dear mother’s scarf that I deeply cherish,” Sonia shared. “It’s important to me to have this opportunity to include it in the exhibit and to share the history of how it survived.”

Finally, Station officials announced how they intend to extend their commitment of Holocaust Education well after the exhibition closes on March 20^th.

“This is our highest attended exhibition in Union Station history,” Ramón Murguía, Union Station Board Chairman, said. “When the exhibit leaves Kansas City, it will have impacted hundreds of thousands of lives. But for us, that’s not enough. It’s important to our organization to create an enduring legacy and continue educating our younger generation. Toward that commitment, we will be donating $25,000 to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Foundation – who will be partnering with the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education – to send Kansas City area high school teachers on a fully-funded trip to Poland, including Warsaw, Krakow and an intensive three-day workshop held at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum. This new educational program will allow teachers to visit Auschwitz in person and bring the lessons of Auschwitz back to our students and communities.”

The recruitment of teachers and the post-trip educational programming will be co-developed with the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Foundations’ local partner: The Midwest Center for Holocaust Education. Details of the program are expected to be announced in January, 2022.