SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — With violence in the Middle East as a backdrop, a historian of the American response to the holocaust is visiting Sioux City.

Doctor Rebecca Erbelding is the keynote speaker Wednesday night at Briar Cliff University’s 2023 Sister Muriel Rord lectureship.

Before that, Erbelding visited the Sioux City Railroad Museum exploring the new holocaust rails exhibit.

Dr. Erbelding was asked about why exhibits like this are important for her to visit.

“One of the amazing things about this exhibit is that it really does focus on local liberators, local survivors and I think that’s something that’s really relevant particularly to students. They can come here and they can see that this is, these are people who were in their communities and these are things that people went through and they can see very tangible evidence of that happening,” Dr. Erbelding said.