May3 Washington, DC Program on American Jewish Soldiers in WWII at Library of Congress

OURS TO FIGHT FOR: AMERICAN JEWISH SOLDIERS IN WWII
Lecture and audio-visual presentation by Jason Steinhauer

WHEN: MONDAY MAY 3, 2010 AT 12 NOON

WHERE: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, DINING ROOM A-6TH FLOOR

American Jewish soldiers participated greatly in the American war
effort and their military service impacted an entire generation of
American Jewry. Drawing on his work on the award-winning "Ours to Fight
For" exhibition at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, and collections from
the
Veterans History Project, Jason Steinhauer*s presentation will
feature excerpts of documentary films, oral history testimony, and
slides. (more details below).

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT-Gail Shirazi gshi@loc.gov, 202-707-9897

Veterans History Project and Hebrew Language Table Explore American
Jewish Service in World War II

More than 550,000 American Jewish soldiers served in World War II. They
received 52,000 decorations for gallantry. Their contribution to Allied
victory was enormous; their military service transformative for an
entire generation.

Jason Steinhauer, Liaison Specialist at the Library of Congress
Veterans History Project, will discuss the contributions, impact and
legacy of American Jewish service in World War II on May 3, 2010, at
12:00 p.m. in Dining Room A of the Library*s James Madison Building.
Co-sponsored by the Library*s Hebrew Language Table, the presentation
kicks off the Library*s Jewish American Heritage Month celebration.

The lecture and discussion will draw on collections from the Veterans
History Project and Steinhauer*s work as Assistant Curator on the
award-wining exhibition Ours to Fight For: American Jews in the Second
World War at the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the
Holocaust. The exhibition received the American Association of
Museum*s Grand Prize for Excellence in Exhibitions for 2003.
Steinhauer joined the Veterans History Project staff in December 2009.

The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center houses the
remarkable stories of hundreds of American Jewish war veterans.
First-person accounts of veterans of the Second World War are
spotlighted in one of the Project*s Experiencing War web features,
titled *Jewish Veterans of World War II.* These one-of-a-kind
stories may be found at www.loc.gov/vets.

Congress created The Veterans History Project in 2000 as a national
documentation program of the American Folklife Center
(www.loc.gov/folklife/) to record, preserve and make accessible the
first-hand remembrances of American wartime veterans from World War I
through the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, so that future
generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the
realities of war. Over 68,000 individual stories comprise the collection
to date. The project relies on volunteers to record veterans*
remembrances using guidelines accessible at www.loc.gov/vets. Volunteer
interviewers may request information at vohp@loc.gov or the toll-free
message line at (888) 371-5848. Subscribe to the VHP RSS to receive
periodic updates of VHP news.
Gail Shirazi (202) 707-9897