Nazi Book-Burning Display Marks One of Human HIstory's Darker Moments

Traveling exhibition of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum runs Sept. 22 to Nov. 17

WOOSTER, Ohio - Nazi Germany’s notorious book burnings of May 1933, which ushered in a period of state censorship and government control of culture, will be chronicled this fall when the The College of Wooster Libraries (1140 Beall Ave.) present "Fighting the Fires of Hate: America and the Nazi Book Burnings,” a traveling exhibition from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Through films and reproductions of historical photographs and documents, the exhibition, which opens Sept. 22 and continues through Nov. 17, recounts how the book burnings became a potent symbol in America’s battle against Nazism during World War II, and examines how they have continued to resonate — in film, literature, and political discourse — to this day.

The opening reception begins at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 22, and includes a keynote address by Leon Bass, author of Good Enough: One Man’s Memoir on the Price of the Dream, at 6:15 p.m. Bass will share some of the greatest moments of 20th Century America, from his anger about the way he was treated as a soldier in the Deep South to the cruelties of Buchenwald to his realization of new possibilities as he listened to Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington in 1963.

Following the reception and presentation, attendees are invited to view the Embracing Our Differences poster display, which will be located along the walkway between Kauke Hall and the Andrews Library. This display of community artwork on the theme "Embracing Our Differences" will be illuminated by floodlights for the evening as a metaphor for providing light and clarity to a sometimes dark and mysterious world, according to Nicola Kille, assistant director with Wooster's Center for Diversity and Global Engagement. Entries for the 2012 Embracing Our Differences contest are due in January. For more information, visit the website. The display will be on campus until Oct 3.

The exhibition has been made possible, in part, with support from the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, and Julia Fishelson, Emerita Life Trustee of The College of Wooster. Local sponsorship has been provided by The College of Wooster Libraries and The Center for Diversity and Global Engagement.

Additional information about the exhibition is available by phone (330-263-2527) or e-mail.