History That Doesn't Suck

Episode 202: Holocaust Prologue with US Holocaust Memorial Museum Director, Sara J. Bloomfield

Release Date: March 30, 2026
Host: Professor Greg Jackson
Guest: Sara J. Bloomfield (Director, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
Co-host/Editor: Riley Neubauer

Overview of the Episode

This special “prologue” episode sets the stage for a multi-episode exploration of the Holocaust, focusing on why Holocaust memory and education matter especially in the context of American democracy. Professor Greg Jackson is joined by executive editor Riley Neubauer and features an in-depth interview with Sara J. Bloomfield, the Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM). The discussion traverses the purpose of the museum, the challenges of Holocaust education as survivor generations fade, and the enduring relevance of Holocaust history for Americans today.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Framing the Series & Episode Purpose

• Contextual Challenges of WWII Storytelling

  • Greg and Riley discuss their methodology for teaching WWII on the podcast, intentionally weaving together the European and Pacific theaters, rather than separating them by geography, to give a coherent American perspective.
  • The current narrative is shifting from the Pacific (Pacific theater in US memory post-Pearl Harbor) to the European theater and Holocaust.

• Significance of the Holocaust Prologue

  • The Holocaust becomes more prominent in American consciousness as the war progresses (1942–43), but most Americans, especially early in the war, are more focused on Japan’s attack and the Pacific.

  Key Quote:

  "At this point in the war where we are at is 1942 going into 1943...for Americans at that point it’s really more about the Pacific. Japan's the one that carried out this sneak attack, the surprise attack that devastated Pearl Harbor. And so that’s a shift that is going to happen—the more European focus coming to bear..."
  — Greg Jackson (08:23)

2. Introducing Sara J. Bloomfield

• Personal Connections

  • Riley shares her family's deep ties to the Museum: her great-grandfather helped found it, and Sara knew him well. This was instrumental in securing Sara’s rare podcast appearance.

  Key Quote:

  "I'm incredibly honored that she decided to take the leap and be on her first ever podcast and that we're able to bring this conversation to you." — Riley Neubauer (11:26)

3. Why a Holocaust Museum in America? [15:50–17:13]

• Democracy at the Core

  • Bloomfield argues that democracy is the foundational reason for placing the Holocaust Museum in the U.S. capital. The implication: even advanced democracies can devolve into tyranny, which is a permanent lesson for Americans.

  Key Quote:

  "There’s just one word that explains why there is a Holocaust museum in our nation's capital, and that word is democracy...before the Nazis came to power, Germany was an advanced, educated nation with a democratic constitution...And yet, and yet..."
  — Sara Bloomfield (15:58)

• Federal Partnership, Survivor Involvement

  • Bloomfield details how the museum was established under President Carter, the importance of public/private partnership, and high engagement from non-Jewish visitors (95% of visitors).

4. Telling the Story: Challenges & Methodology [20:35–25:42]

• Personalization & Human Connection

  • Survivor voices and physical artifacts (rail cars, shoes, barracks) remain crucial for creating bonds between today’s Americans and Holocaust victims.
  • As survivors dwindle, focus shifts to artifacts’ authenticity and efforts to convey the enormity of the event.

• Audience Engagement Evolving

  • Many visitors today do not see themselves as perpetrators or victims; they want to understand the role of “ordinary people” and the impact of collaboration and bystander silence.

  Key Quote:

  "The Holocaust would not have been possible without the collaboration of many hundreds of thousands of ordinary people and the silence of millions..."
  — Sara Bloomfield (22:13)

• Narrative Power vs. Argument

  • Refers to a Richard Powers quote (via Ken Burns):

    "The best arguments in the world can't change a single mind. The only thing that can do that is a great story." (25:35)

5. American Connections to the Holocaust [26:22–31:13]

• American Roles: Before, During, After

  • Emphasis on US soldiers liberating camps, Americans who acted to rescue Jews, and survivor immigration post-war.
  • Survivor reflections on the meaning of America underscore its unique promise of liberty and equality.

  Key Quote:

  "America was the first country where Jews could be both Jewish and American. It's such a novel idea in history..."
  — Sara Bloomfield (29:12)

• Memorializing Democracy

  • The museum’s location, quotes from Washington and Jefferson at the entrance, and architectural dialogue with DC’s founding fathers' monuments frame the Holocaust as a warning and lesson within America’s democratic experiment.

6. Addressing Ignorance and Antisemitism [34:23–41:12]

• "Americans and the Holocaust" Exhibit

  • Exhibition focuses on what Americans knew during the Holocaust and how they responded: polling data reveal shockingly high antisemitism, with much of the public blaming Jews for their persecution or opposing refugee resettlement.
  • Even after the war, only 5% of Americans supported admitting Jewish refugees.

  Key Quote:

  "Two out of three Americans blame the Jews for their own persecution...After the war...only 5% said, let them in."
  — Sara Bloomfield (34:23–36:15)

• Contemporary Relevance

  • Bloomfield notes that US antisemitism is at "unprecedented levels...much higher than it was then."
  • She and Greg agree on the dire state of historical literacy and the urgency of active history education.

  Key Quote:

  "To be a responsible citizen, you just have to know about where you’ve been in order to think about and shape your future."
  — Sara Bloomfield (38:00)

7. Museum's Educational Approach for Younger Generations [39:44–41:12]

• Responding to Modern Challenges

  • USHMM is developing resources to help teachers connect the Holocaust to anti-propaganda and media literacy today.
  • Focus on root causes (antisemitism, conspiracy theories, ethnonationalism) rather than only events. Teachers are showing strong interest in professional development.

  Key Quote:

  "We've developed a module using Nazi propaganda posters and help teachers teach students...We want students to be more discerning consumers..."
  — Sara Bloomfield (40:04)

8. Guidance for Listeners: How to Approach Holocaust History [41:47–45:06]

• Historical Roots, Not Meteorites

  • Bloomfield cautions against viewing the Holocaust as a singular eruption; its origins stretch deep into European history—technology, social anxiety, World War I, nationalism, and racism set the stage.
  • The forthcoming new exhibit will begin in Europe, 1900 to show the context leading up to Nazi genocide.

  Key Quote:

  "These events all have deep roots...History teaches us that we always look for simple answers to complex questions."
  — Sara Bloomfield (41:47–44:25)

9. Balancing Horror and Humanity: How to Tell the Story [45:06–49:35]

• Scale and Speed

  • Public often underestimates both the scale and rapidity: 4 million Jews murdered in a few years; by D-Day, over 5 million dead.
  • Personal stories: museum’s "Tower of Faces," artifacts (e.g., letters thrown from trains) are used to anchor statistical magnitude in individual experience.

  Key Quotes:

  "This wasn’t 6 million statistics. This is 6 million individual murders."
  — Sara Bloomfield (46:32)
  "Everybody walks in that room and goes, ‘Oh.’ Because everybody can identify with the individuality and the humanity of just other human beings that are just like them."
  — Sara Bloomfield (47:36)

• Memorable Moment

  • A student visitor comments, after leaving the museum:

    "I don't think any of us expected to learn about humanity." — Mandy from Iowa City (47:56)

10. Final Thoughts & Call to Action

• Bloomfield emphasizes that studying the Holocaust is “looking at ourselves in the mirror” and hopes visitors and listeners see themselves in the story and recognize their role in shaping the future.

  Key Quote:

  “History is really, really looking at ourselves in the mirror...see themselves in that story and see themselves in the future story that they can write as citizens.”
  — Sara Bloomfield (50:13)

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• [15:58] Sara Bloomfield: “There’s just one word that explains why there is a Holocaust museum in our nation's capital, and that word is democracy.”
• [18:53] Sara Bloomfield, quoting Eisenhower’s D-Day speech: “Soldiers, sailors and airmen, the eyes of the world are upon you...You will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny...and security for ourselves in a free world.”
• [22:13] Sara Bloomfield: “The Holocaust would not have been possible without the collaboration of many hundreds of thousands of ordinary people and the silence of millions of ordinary people.”
• [25:35] Sara Bloomfield (via Richard Powers): “The best arguments in the world won't change a single mind. The only thing that can do that is a great story.”
• [29:12] Sara Bloomfield: “America was the first country where Jews could be both Jewish and American. It's such a novel idea in history...”
• [34:23] Sara Bloomfield: “In 1938...two out of three Americans blame the Jews for their own persecution.”
• [36:12] Sara Bloomfield: “Even after the war...only 5% said, let them in.”
• [38:00] Sara Bloomfield: “To be a responsible citizen, you just have to know about where you’ve been in order to think about and shape your future.”
• [41:47] Sara Bloomfield: “Great events...like the Holocaust and World War II, they're not meteorites that came down from the sky...These events all have deep roots.”
• [46:32] Sara Bloomfield: "This wasn’t 6 million statistics. This is 6 million individual murders."
• [47:56] Sara Bloomfield, quoting a visitor: “I don't think any of us expected to learn about humanity.”
• [50:13] Sara Bloomfield: “History is really, really looking at ourselves in the mirror...see themselves in that story and see themselves in the future story that they can write as citizens.”

Segment Timestamps

| Segment | Time | |--------------------------------------------|----------| | Introduction/contextual banter | 03:19 | | Explaining HTDS’s WWII narrative approach | 04:07 | | Introducing Sara J. Bloomfield | 15:39 | | Why the museum exists in America | 15:50 | | Museum’s formation and mission | 17:13 | | Value of survivor voices/artifacts | 20:35 | | Visitor engagement and “ordinary people” | 22:13 | | The power of narrative storytelling | 25:29 | | American memory and survivor immigration | 26:22 | | Democracy and American values | 29:12 | | “Americans and the Holocaust” exhibit | 34:23 | | Holocaust ignorance and denial today | 38:00 | | Museum education in the social media era | 39:44 | | Advice for listeners and historical roots | 41:47 | | Grappling with narrative scale/humanity | 45:06 | | Closing thoughts | 50:11 |

Takeaways for New Listeners

• The Holocaust is not just a Jewish or European story; its memory is fundamental to understanding democracy, citizenship, and human rights in America.
• Museums must blend deeply personal survivor stories with sobering facts to overcome historical amnesia and denial.
• The United States, despite its flaws, is singular in the opportunities and guarantees it extended to survivors and minorities—a lesson that is still urgently relevant.
• Individual and collective choices matter; history is the mirror reflecting both our failures and our potential.
• Facing the Holocaust honestly can (and should) challenge us to renew our democratic commitments and vigilance against tyranny—not just “then,” but now.

If you haven’t listened to the episode, this summary captures its narrative drive, emotional power, and educational depth—inviting you to engage further with upcoming detailed Holocaust episodes.