Holocaust Exhibit at NB Free Public Library Closing With Reception

This just in from the NB Free Public Library -- BΩS

The New Brunswick Free Public Library’s current exhibition from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, “Fighting the Fires of Hate: America and the Nazi Book Burnings,” will close on August 10 after a closing reception on August 5.

The exhibition’s closing reception will be held on Thursday, August 5 at 7 PM in the library’s Carl T. Valenti Community Room. The reception will feature a lecture on the organized resistance in New Jersey to the Nazi regime, presented by Ron Becker, Head of Special Collections and University Archives at Rutgers University Libraries.

Since its opening on June 14, the exhibition has attracted more than 200 visitors from the United States and Canada, in addition to the well-attended opening reception with special guests Dr. Steven Luckert, Director of the Permanent Exhibition at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and Dr. Douglas Greenberg, Executive Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University.

For more information about the exhibition or accompanying programs, please contact librarian Laura Szalaj at 732-745-5108, ext. 20 or via email to lszalaj@lmxac.org. The New Brunswick Free Public Library is located at 60 Livingston Avenue.

About the “Fighting the Fires of Hate” Exhibition

On May 10, 1933, upwards of 25,000 volumes of “un-German” books were burned in consciously staged book burnings across Germany, presaging an era of state censorship and control of culture. This exhibition examines the American reaction to the Nazi book burnings as well as the events’ evolution in film, literature and political discourse.

The exhibition is open to visitors on weekdays from 10 AM to 3 PM and Saturdays from 10 AM to 5 PM, or by appointment. The library is hosting this exhibition with generous support from New Brunswick’s Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple, Magyar Bank and the Kiwanis Club of New Brunswick.

About the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

The Holocaust was the state-sponsored, systematic persecution and annihilation of European Jewry by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945. Jews were the primary victims — six million were murdered; Gypsies, the mentally and physically handicapped and Poles were also targeted for destruction or decimation for racial, ethnic, or national reasons. Millions more, including homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Soviet prisoners of war and political dissidents, also suffered grievous oppression and death under Nazi tyranny.

A living memorial to the Holocaust, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum inspires citizens and leaders worldwide to promote human dignity, confront hatred and prevent genocide. Federal support guarantees the Museum’s permanent place on the National Mall, and its far-reaching educational programs and global impact are made possible by the generosity of donors nationwide.

For more information about the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, please call 202-488-0400 or visit the museum’s website at www.ushmm.org.