Exhibit chronicles horrors in WWII

A traveling exhibit that chronicles the story of 15,000 German-American civilians interned by the U.S. government during World War II will stop in Joliet this week.

Using 10 narrative panels, an NBC "Dateline" documentary and a 1945 U.S. government film about this story, TRACES' mobile museum -- a retrofitted school bus called the BUS-eum 2 -- will tour 110 communities in eight Midwestern states.

The BUS-eum (above) awaits visitors. TRACES executive director and bus curator/driver Michael Luick-Thrams is expected to arrive with the traveling exhibit at the Black Road branch of the Joliet Public Library on Thursday.

he exhibit will be in Joliet from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Black Road branch of the Joliet Public Library, 3595 Black Road, Joliet.
Between 1941 and 1948, the U.S. government interned the German-Americans, some of whom disappeared under the cover of night, while others were taken during raids at their jobs. About a third were kidnapped by U.S. agents in other countries and brought to the United States by force. None had a lawyer, or were charged with, tried for or convicted of a war-related crime. Many were imprisoned for the duration of the war and for years after it ended.

To learn more about the exhibit, visit www.TRACES.org. The exhibit's texts and photos can be previewed at the Web site.