Seven square photographs on  teal background

Choosing Freedom

Lives That Defied Tyranny

A three-by-three grid displaying seven historical portraits and photos alongside two red accent blocks.

Choosing Freedom: Lives That Defied Tyranny

Discover firsthand accounts of people who fled their homelands—or their adopted homelands—to escape authoritarianism and find freedom.

Based on the eponymous exhibition displayed in Hoover Tower, June 17, 2026 – May 9, 2027. 

FREEDOM DEEP DIVES
Detail of a black and white photograph of a young boy sleeping on a wooden bench, slight teal coloring.

A Wartime Odyssey

Discover the survival, resilience, and harrowing journeys of the "Children of Tehran"—Polish Jewish children displaced during World War II.

Detail of black and white photo of a woman and man in front of an American flag.

Victor Herman: Freedom from Communism

Take a visual look into the life of Victor Herman, an American who spent 45 years in the Soviet Union—including surviving the Gulag—before regaining his freedom.

Detail of a map with Chinese writting on it. Blue ink on cream paper.

Escaping the Cultural Revolution

Explore the harrowing personal stories of China's "Sent-Down Youth" and their daring escapes during the Cultural Revolution.

Detail of a photo of a diplaycase with a bullet hole in the glass, inside are black and white photographs of people with names and info.

Freedom from Ba‘athism: Iraqi Testimonies

Discover powerful survivor testimonies revealing the human cost of Saddam Hussein’s regime and the extraordinary resilience of those who escaped it.

Detail of black and white photo showing prisoners bound and lined up as armed gaurds stand around them

Freedom from Communism: Cuba 1962

Discover the remarkable story behind American James B. Donovan's 1962 secret negotiations with Fidel Castro to free 1,100 prisoners.

LIBERTY AMPLIFIED ARTICLES
A historic photograph of a smiling man and woman wearing leather flight caps and parachute gear in front of a biplane, as the man points skyward.

Lives that Defied Tyranny

Choosing Freedom, a new exhibition, features courageous figures like Victor Herman, an American trapped in the USSR.

A row of diverse older adults standing attentively in a crowded auditorium, viewed in profile against a blurred background of audience members.

Through Darkness to Freedom

An exhibition focuses on the “sent-down youth” who survived, and escaped, Mao's Cultural Revolution.

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