Upcoming 'upgrade' to Holocaust Museum exhibit sparks some staff concerns: Sources

An exhibit at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum that takes a critical look at the United States' response to Nazi Germany is slated to temporarily close after Labor Day for upgrades, sparking concern among some staff over what potential changes could be made amid President Donald Trump's sweeping review of museums and their programming, sources tell ABC News.

On Sept. 2, the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., is scheduled to temporarily close its "Americans and the Holocaust" exhibit through Feb. 2026 to conduct an "upgrade," according to an internal email sent to staff in June and obtained by ABC News.

The staff-wide email, sent after Trump signed an executive order in March directing federal agencies and the Smithsonian to eliminate what he called divisive and "anti-American" content from museums and national parks, informed staff that exhibit teams at the museum would work to "upgrade the gallery and the exhibition."

"The current plan is to close the exhibition on September 2, 2025 (the day after Labor Day) and reopen on February 28, 2026 (just before the busy season)," the email read. "Once closed, Technical Services, Operations, Exhibit Experience, and Collections Services will work together to upgrade the gallery and the exhibition. Once the work is completed, 'Americans and the Holocaust' can remain open through 2032 with little to no additional support. Please feel free to reach out with questions and concerns."

The email does not state specifically if or what would be upgraded or list any planned changes to the exhibit's editorial content. It was sent to staff prior to the Trump administration's recent letter to the Smithsonian Institution requesting a "comprehensive internal review" of eight of its museums. While the Holocaust Memorial Museum is not part of the Smithsonian Institution, it receives millions in federal funding as well as private donations.

Sources tell ABC News that news that the temporary closure of the "Americans and the Holocaust" exhibit has increased concerns among some staffers who had been worried about the museums' direction under the new administration, after Trump in April fired and replaced five Democrats appointed to the board of the museum.

The concern also comes as other Holocaust museums are facing criticism over editorial changes, including New York City's Museum of Jewish Heritage, which reportedly removed images of Trump from an exhibit on hate speech last September. The museum's vice chair told Jewish Currents that the exhibit opened just "prior to the election" and that she felt the museum "should not have any political candidates in any of our exhibits."

When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum confirmed the planned closure of the exhibit and told ABC News that "there are no changes to the editorial content."

"The Americans and the Holocaust exhibition was originally scheduled to be open for five years and has now been on display for more than seven. As a result, the gallery and exhibition needed work such as HVAC systems repairs, upgrading audio visual equipment and interactive tables, renewing copyrights that expired, and other maintenance," the spokesperson said. "Therefore in 2024 we made the decision to close it temporarily during our lower visitation season to do this work which will be completed over the next few months so that the exhibition can remain open into 2032."

A White House official told ABC News, "There are no plans to review the Holocaust Museum" and said that the closure of the exhibit is unrelated to the administration's review of the Smithsonian museums.

In its letter to the Smithsonian Institution earlier this month, the White House lists eight museums that will be part of its initial Smithsonian review, and does not include the Holocaust Memorial Museum. "Additional museums will be reviewed in Phase II," the letter says.

The "Americans and the Holocaust" exhibit, introduced in 2018 to mark the museum's 25th anniversary, presents a critical look at how the United States responded to the Holocaust and how factors like "the Depression, isolationism, xenophobia, racism, and antisemitism shaped responses to Nazism and the Holocaust in the United States," according to the museum's public website.

One section of the exhibit examines "Obstacles to Immigration" and details how the 1924 National Origins Act was "designed to exclude 'undesirable' European immigrants, especially Italians, Slavs, and Jews."

"Jews who hoped to flee Germany and Nazi-occupied territories faced additional obstacles," the exhibit currently reads. "The Nazi regime implemented policies intended to pressure Jews to leave, but forced them to surrender most of their assets before doing so. At the same time, those who wished to immigrate to the United States had to prove that they would not become an economic burden after they arrived, which usually required finding a U.S. sponsor."

The exhibit states that world-renowned physicist Albert Einstein, "himself a refugee from Germany," said in 1941 that the United States had created a "wall of bureaucratic measures" that prevented immigration.

One part of the exhibit asks, "Could the Allies have stopped the killing?" and states, "Beyond the military goal of defeating Nazism, the United States could have publicized information about Nazi atrocities, pressured the Allies and neutral nations to help endangered Jews, and supported resistance against the Nazis. These acts together might have reduced the death toll but would not have prevented the Holocaust."

The exhibit also includes a copy of the Treasury Department's report to then-President Roosevelt, which described the mass murder of Europe's Jews as "one of the greatest crimes in history," and states that "State Department staff had tried to 'cover up their guilt' through lies and misrepresentations."

Since taking office, President Trump has sought to leave his mark on the museum, which sources say has heightened some staff concerns that an overhaul could be underway. His firing of Holocaust Museum board members appointed by President Joe Biden included the removal of Doug Emhoff, the former second gentleman of the United States, and led to Trump naming eight new board members.

Weeks after the new board members were put in place, staffers received the email informing them that the "Americans and the Holocaust" exhibit would be closing in September.

In recent months, some Trump-appointed members of the museum's board, known as the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, have publicly called for an overhaul of the museum. Board member Martin Oliner, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, penned a June op-ed titled "Make the Holocaust Memorial Council great again," in which he said that "in its current form" the museum was not fulfilling its "important role."

"Thankfully, U.S. President Donald Trump, who has made combating antisemitism a priority of his second term, appears to understand these challenges and has begun cleaning house at the museum," the op-ed stated.

Oliner, wrote that "the museum was designed when it was thought that antisemitism was a thing of the past, and it has moved on to combating other types of hate," arguing that "a planned $150 million renovation of the main exhibit hall could make the museum even more woke and disconnected, a liberal monument to the dangers of immigration enforcement and conservative politics."

The museum needs to show that "antisemitism is the world's oldest hatred" and "teach its visitors about the story of Jewish survival," Oliner wrote.