Radio Release:

 [ATTENTION EXHIBIT HOSTS: Be sure to enter the information for your event into the fields in the second paragraph and then delete this reminder BEFORE distributing!]

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact person: [host’s representative] or [rep’s phone number] at [rep’s email address].

Traveling Exhibit Tells Unknown Story of German-American
Civilian Internment in the United States during World War II
 
Did you know that during WWII the U.S. Government interned 15,000 German-American civilians? Using narrative panels, an NBC “Dateline” documentary and a 1945 U.S. Government color film about this unknown history, TRACES’ BUS-eum 2 will tour four Midwest states in spring 2008, with showings at many libraries, schools and historical societies. The exhibit will be driven by TRACES director, Michael Luick-Thrams, who will be available for both live and phone interviews along the way

Barring unforeseen difficulties, the BUS-eum 2 will be in [TOWN] from [TIME AM/PM] to [TIME AM/PM] on [DAY OF WEEK], the [DATE] of [MONTH] 2008; it will be parked in front of the [NAME OF INSTITUTION], at [STREET ADDRESS]: the local contact person is [NAME], at [PHONE NUMBER] or [EMAIL ADDRESS].

 This project’s main goals include presenting an unknown history to a wide audience and stimulating open discussion, guided by panels of local hosts’ own community leaders. Especially relevant as the Midwest was the site of 18 German-American internment camps and detention centers, communities across the region will have an opportunity—in most cases for the first time—to discuss the legacy as well as implications of the U.S. Government’s WWII “enemy alien” internment program.

A “community conversation” will be part of many BUS-eum 2 showings: at such venues, host-selected community leaders will sit on a panel and discuss guiding questions. Through this project, Midwesterners will see WWII history in a new way. The discussion itself is meant to support democratic processes and involvement. This exhibit is supported, in part, by a grant from the South Dakota State Historical Society, with local supporters across the entire region.

(Early arrival is encouraged, as the tour is tightly scheduled and showings will begin and end promptly at the times indicated. For more information, see www.TRACES.org.)

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