Kansas City, MO – June 22, 2021 – Today, Union Station Officials announced that after only seven days into the planned 7-month exhibition run of Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away., the total number of reserved tickets sold has surpassed 100,000, with guests coming from 47 states.

“When we started planning this exhibition nearly six years ago, we knew it would draw guests from the entire region and possibly from across the United States,” George Guastello, Union Station president and CEO, said. “The wildcard of COVID, however, threw in some big unknowns. Fortunately, reality is playing out in a record-setting way. And that has prompted us to strongly encourage all guests to go online now and purchase their tickets. Don’t wait. With a careful pacing of guests in the exhibition gallery, capacities are already limited. And with record tickets sold – over 100,000 so far – the sooner reservations are made, the better.”

Presented by Bank of America, Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. arrived in Kansas City as the second and final programmed U.S. tour stop before all the artifacts must return to Europe. In addition to setting record pace for ticket sales, the exhibition has received strong media coverage from regional, national, and international press.

“The topics presented in this important exhibition are obviously resonating with our audiences,” Jerry Baber, Union Station executive vice president and COO, said. “And it’s not simply with individuals and families. Interest and reservations from organized school field trips as well as corporate groups is especially strong which is really encouraging in the context of today’s social priorities of equality, diversity and inclusion.”

The exhibition features 21 thematic galleries covering the massive 20,000 sqf Bank of America Gallery. Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. was conceived by Musealia and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and curated by an international panel of experts, including world-renowned scholars Dr. Robert Jan van Pelt, Dr. Michael Berenbaum, and Paul Salmons, in an unprecedented collaboration with historians and curators at the Research Center at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, led by Dr. Piotr Setkiewicz.

Bringing this exhibition to life took a large Kansas City community of supporters and a year-long effort to ensure as many people as possible – regardless of their personal finances – could learn from its contents.

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. runs at Union Station through January 2022.

Exhibition Admission:*

Union Station Members: $15                    Adults: $23.50
Students (3-22): $17.50                            Senior (55+): $19
Groups: $15
*Excludes fees

Hours:  Monday – Sunday: 10AM – 6PM with Last Ticket Sold at 4PM

Advance ticket purchases are highly encouraged as walk-up tickets may not be available due to sold out dates. Tickets can be purchased online at unionstation.org

Complete details covering security, what to bring (and not), age appropriateness, student fieldtrip scholarships and FAQs are available online at unionstation.org

###

ABOUT Union Station Kansas City — a 501(c)3 non-profit organization — is a 107-year-old historical landmark and celebrated civic asset renovated and reopened to the public in 1999. Recently awarded “Favorite Attraction”, “Favorite Family-Friendly Attraction” and “Favorite Historic Attraction”, the organization — dedicated to science education, celebration of community and preservation of history — is home to Kansas City’s internationally-awarded Science City; the new Arvin Gottlieb Planetarium; the Regnier Extreme Screen Theatre; the popular Model Train Gallery; City Stage Theatre featuring live theater, and a selection of unique shops and restaurants. Union Station is also home to prominent area civic organizations and businesses, and regularly hosts world-class traveling exhibitions. Awarded “Top Banquet Facilities in KC” by KC Business Journal, the facility annually hosts hundreds of community events and private celebrations of all sizes. Visit WWW.UNIONSTATION.ORG for details. Also, follow us on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, and YOUTUBE. 

ABOUT MUSEALIA
Musealia is a Spanish-based global producer of large-scale historical exhibitions that are presented at museums and education centers all over the world. Its vision is to create and manage exhibitions that are distinguished by a strong narrative character, historical rigor, emotional impact, and educational value.

ABOUT THE AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU STATE MUSEUM
Fulfilling the wish of survivors, on July 2, 1947, the Polish parliament created the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum on the site of two preserved parts of the former German Nazi camp: Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau. The Memorial today includes an Archive and a Collections department, and undertakes research, conservation, and publishing activities. It is, above all, an education center that teaches visitors about the history of Auschwitz and the Shoah. More than 2 million people visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in 2019.

Artifacts and images from dozens of institutions and private collections from around the world will be on view at Union Station.  These sources include:

Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Oświęcim
Auschwitz Jewish Center, Oświęcim
Buchenwald Memorial, Weimar
Bundesarchiv, Berlin
Canadian War Museum, Ottawa
Christian Schad Museum, Aschaffenburg
Czartoryski Museum and Library, Kraków
Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin
Ghetto Fighters’ House Museum, Kibbutz Lohamei Hagetaot
Hartheim Castle Education and Memorial Centre, Alkoven
Holocaust Center for Humanity, Seattle
House of the Wannsee Conference, Berlin
Imperial War Museum, London
Institut für Zeitgeschichte, Munich
Institute of National Remembrance, Warsaw
Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam
Jewish Museum of Greece, Athens
Mauthausen Memorial, Mauthausen
Memorial and Museum Sachsenhausen, Oranienburg
Memorial Centre Westerbork, Hooghalen (The Netherlands)
Montreal Holocaust Museum, Montreal
Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington, D.C.
NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Amsterdam
Slovak National Archives, Bratislava
Terezín Initiative Institute, Prague
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.
Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide, London
Yad Vashem, Jerusalem