"What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor but the silence of the bystander." This quote by Author and Holocaust Survivor Elie Wiesel is part of the exhibition "I Am My Brother's Keeper: A Tribute to the Righteous Among the Nations," which is currently on display at the University of Nevada, Reno in the Jot Travis Building in the Student Galleries South. The public is invited to the gallery for a featured Artown lecture and reception Wednesday, July 8, starting at 4 p.m.

The exhibition, which is on display until Aug. 15, tells the stories of heroic men, women and nations who refused to be bystanders and risked their lives to help save and shelter Jews during the Holocaust. It honors the 25,681 individuals and groups who have been named Righteous Among the Nations by the State of Israel.

"This exhibit really brings the Holocaust into the contemporary in that it's presenting information about the Holocaust that many people don't know," Paul Baker Prindle, the University Galleries director, said. "The depth of these actions are new to a lot of the viewers and the newness puts viewers in a situation that makes it easier to connect it with the present."

According to Baker Prindle, this is the first time the exhibition has been exhibited in the United States. It challenges the viewer to think about the question, "What would you do?" if presented with situations in the exhibit and to think about how to prevent future genocides. 

"Our gallery space really lends itself to the type of contemplative viewing this exhibition asks the viewer to do," Baker Prindle said.

The traveling exhibition comes from the Holocaust History Museum Yad Vahem in Jerusalem, Israel, which is the largest and most significant institution world-wide for Holocaust remembrance, education and commemoration. The text-based exhibition with a number of state-of the-art video areas is comprised of quotations, facts and short narratives which help viewers understand the stories of the individuals who risked their lives to help save other human beings.

"The stories of the survivors of the Holocaust have to be told as long as possible because there are people who do not believe it happened or who do not know anything about it," Baker Prindle said.

The exhibit not only honors the Righteous Among the Nations but also Jews who live in Nevada.

"Jews came with the miners to northern Nevada and have lived here just as long as anyone else, barring Indigenous Americans," Baker Prindle said. "These stories are a way of really honoring what the Jews have contributed, especially what the survivors have contributed to our state.

"Nevada has a strong commitment to remembering the Holocaust; it is part of the K-12 curriculum by state law. For the University, the exhibition is a way of further filling out our state's commitment to educating about the Holocaust."

The "I Am My Brother's Keeper" exhibition was made possible by the Crystal Family Foundation, Julia Oversloot Berg, Barbara Weinberg, John and Catherine Farahi, Michael and Joan Pokroy, Nancy Flanigan, Lynn Bremer, Al and Wendy Alderman, Doug Unger, the Krell Family, Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, The Nevada Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Reno, Temple Sinai and the Department of Art at the University.

The exhibit is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday, or by special appointment by calling 775-784-6658. For more information about the School of the Arts and other exhibits at the University, visit www.unr.edu/arts.