Exhibit | Snapshots of Orange County in the 1940s: Spaces, Places, Faces
Snapshots of Orange County in the 1940s: Spaces, Places and Faces exhibit, presented by UCI Libraries, explores the cultural, economic, and political landscape of Orange County from its inception through World War II. While multicultural groups were setting roots before the war, military installations brought soldiers from all over the country to Orange County, changing the demographics, cultural norms, and expectations. This exhibit shares the stories of the spaces, places, and faces that transformed rural Orange County to a thriving metropolis.
The exhibit would not be possible without the work of curators Nicole Arnold, Research Librarian for Student Success and Instruction; Cynthia Johnson, Head of Reference Department and Grunigen Medical Library; John Sisson, Research Librarian for Biological Sciences; and Krystal Tribbett, Curator for Orange County Regional History and Research Librarian for Orange County; and the Libraries' Exhibits Team.
Snapshots of Orange County in the 1940s: Spaces, Places and Faces is a complementary exhibit to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) and the American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office's traveling exhibition, Americans and the Holocaust, which was on display from February 2, 2022 through March 9, 2022. The traveling exhibition explores the motives, pressures and fears that shaped Americans' responses to Nazism, war, and genocide in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s highlighting themes in American history, including Americans' responses to refugees. This exhibition challenges the commonly held assumptions that Americans knew little and did nothing about the Nazi persecution and murder of Jews as the Holocaust unfolded. To learn more Americans and the Holocaust, visit ushmm.org/americans-ala.
As one of 50 sites selected to host Americans and the Holocaust, UCI Libraries was honored to share this groundbreaking exhibition with the UCI campus and community. In alignment with the traveling exhibition, we gathered guest speakers and experts from UCI and across the nation to discuss antisemitism, extremism, and the power of human connection. The Americans and the Holocaust event series honors the past, challenges assumptions, and explores how history continues to shape our present. To view recordings of all events related to the Americans and the Holocaust, visit lib.uci.edu/americans.
Snapshots of Orange County in the 1940s: Spaces, Places and Faces was designed by Allan Helmick, Sylvia Irving, and Luisa Lee.
Visitor Information
Snapshots of Orange County in the 1940s: Spaces, Places and Faces will be on display in the main lobby of Langson Library during regular library hours February 2022 through mid-October 2022. Self-parking ($2/hour) is available at UCI Student Center Parking Structure or Lot 1. For more information on parking rates, visit parking.uci.edu/permits.
Online Exhibit
Selected materials from the Snapshots of Orange County in the 1940s: Spaces, Places and Faces exhibit are now available in our complementary Snapshots of Orange County online exhibit.
Your Support Makes These Exhibits Possible
UCI Libraries' Exhibits Program promotes the diverse holdings and scholarly and cultural value of the Libraries' collections to the campus and community. For more information about special sponsorship opportunities, or to make a transformational gift to support special projects related to the exhibit please contact UCI Libraries Associate Director of Development, Angelica Simmons, at acsimmo1@uci.edu or 949-824-3080.