Come Visit the Bus-eum! (rhymes with “museum”)

Professor Luick-Thrams

What is it?   The Bus-eum is a traveling history museum on wheels.

When is the event? Saturday, July 10, from 10 AM to 6 PM

Where will it be?  At the entranceway to Riverside Park by the water feature, corner of State and Front Streets, and at the Radisson.

Is there a charge?  All events are free of charge and open to the public.

What can we learn?  Five “Hidden or Forbidden” chapters of 20th-century American social history, and their effect on hate, racism and prejudice:

  • 1918 Flu Pandemic
  • 1920s Ku Klux Klan’s Second Wave
  • 1930s Depression-era Unemployment
  • Social and Racial Injustice during WW2
  • Prohibition-era Bootleggers

How is it presented?  Indoor and outdoor exhibits and videos

How is this relevant today?  There has been an increase in hate speech, racist and antisemitic incidents. How can we learn from our past and love our neighbor more?

How can we learn more?  Professor Michael Luick-Thrams will make a special presentation at 3:00 PM at the Radisson Hotel, Ballroom A titled,”The Making of the Holocaust: Back Stories from the Midwest.”  He will highlight incidents in the Upper Midwest from both history and from today of racism, antisemitism, prejudice against German-Americans, and anti-Catholic sentiment.  Dr. Luick-Thrams poses the question: “To what degree can any of us can fall victim to modern equivalents of the orchestrated civil distrust and ethnic hate that led to the utter disaster of the Holocaust?”

Who are the sponsors of the event?

This non-profit, educational resource is locally sponsored by the Maureen and Robert Freedland – La Crosse Public Education Fund for Study of the Holocaust, a fund of the La Crosse Community Foundation. Other Wisconsin sponsors include Dane Arts and Arts Wisconsin.

Where can I find more information?   http://www.traces.org/  Or, contact staff@TRACES.org or (515) 450-1548.