History

  “Dreamers & Doers: VOICES of Kentucky Women” is a film documentary inspired by the women in the Commonwealth who boldly opened doors in politics, science, education, entertainment, literature, athletics, religion and the military. Joining us to discuss film and the achievements of some of the more than 40 women portrayed in the documentary are Eleanor Jordan, executive director of the Kentucky Commission on Women; Dr.

Efraim Zuroff is director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center'’s Israel office & Eastern European Affairs division and coordinator for Nazi crimes research worldwide. In 2002 he launched Operation Last Chance, a public campaign to locate and bring to justice the worst suspected Nazi criminals before ill health or death spared them from potential punishment. Today Zuroff is considered the world’'s preeminent Nazi hunter. He and Sarah Weiss, executive director of The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education join us to discuss finding justice, 70 years after the Holocaust. 

The discovery of a rare Native American artifact in Newtown is exciting for archeologists, but it's also raising more questions. WVXU reporter Bill Rinehart joins us to provide details of the find.

At 2038 Auburn Avenue stands the two-story Greek Revival house where William Howard Taft was born and grew up. Now designated the William Howard Taft National Historic Site, it is the only memorial to the nation's 27th President and 10th Chief Justice. The site, consisting of the Taft House and Education Center, is managed by the U.S. Park Service. Park Ranger Kerry Wood tells us about the historic site and a bit about our 27th president.

  During a time when the country was bitterly divided over the issue of slavery, the newspapers of the Civil War era frequently crossed the line that separates politics from journalism. It was a period when partisanship was enthusiastically embraced and readers often aligned themselves with party newspapers as eagerly as they aligned themselves with political parties.

  This month marks the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson’'s decision to begin the massive escalation of the Vietnam War. The war, which ended in April 1975, bitterly divided the United States between those who saw a need to suppress the spread of communism and those who challenged the morality, legality and practically of fighting in a distant southeast Asian country. Vietnam’'s impact is still being felt today, especially in the two recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

David Lewis has a commentary about Cincinnati native Burton L. King, a pioneer silent film director from the early 20th century.

  The Society of Friends, more commonly known as the Quakers, came to Ohio in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The Quakers played a major role in nineteenth-century reform efforts including the temperance, women's rights, and abolition movements.

Between 1940 and 1945, approximately 1.3 million men, women and children, most of whom were Jewish, were deported to Auschwitz. Before the concentration camp was finally liberated by Soviet forces on January 27, 1945, 1.1 million had perished there. The Soviet troops found only 7,000 survivors. A new exhibition commemorating the 70th anniversary of the camp’'s liberation, Unlocking the Gates of Auschwitz 70 Years Later, opens January 30 at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

The exhibit uses artifacts, photographs and personal stories, including those of local survivors Bella Ouziel and Werner Coppel, to tell the history of the Holocaust from various perspectives: victim, collaborator, bystander and perpetrator. Joining us this afternoon to share some of that history, are: Werner Coppel; Sarah Weiss, executive director of the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education; and, Dr. C. G. Newsome,  president of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. 

Unlocking the Gates of Auschwitz 70 Years Later is presented by the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and Cincinnati Museum Center with the support of the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati and the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation.

Cody Hefner from the Cincinnati Museum Center tells about the Mummies of the World exhibit running through April 26, 2015.

  Serving with Honor: The Queen City’'s Veterans, an exhibit now at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County and running through mid-January, profiles some of the many veterans from the Greater Cincinnati area who took up the call of duty, starting from the War of 1812 to the present day. Photos, diaries, letters, uniforms, medals and other artifacts from local veterans will be on display.

  Sunday marked the 73rd anniversary of the attack on Peal Harbor, which brought America into World War II.

This Sunday marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. On November 9, 1989, thousands of Berliners from both East and West climbed over the wall, others went through the border crossing, still others began to physically chip away at the wall that had divided East and West since 1961. Joining us to discuss the historic event, and its impact on world politics, is former U.S. Ambassador to NATO William Howard Taft, IV, and Richard E. Schade, professor emeritus of German Studies at the University of Cincinnati.

William Howard Taft, IV and Herbert Quelle, consul general, Federal Republic of Germany, will be at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center this Sunday, November 9, for a program commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Center has been home to a section of the Berlin Wall since 2010, in view of the Ohio River. Click here for information on the free event, or to RSVP call 513-333-7739.

  As the Cincinnati Preservation Association is celebrating its 50th anniversary, the organization'’s original mission to save Native American and early settlement sites has evolved to saving individual buildings and reviving entire neighborhoods.

One of the greatest collections of fossils can be found at the Cincinnati Museum Center, and this weekend those relics will be celebrated during the upcoming Fossil Week. Frank Johnson is joined by Dr. Glenn Storrs and Jack Kallmeyer with details about the event and the importance of these fossils to our greater understanding of this area and what/who came before us.