Lecture - Nazi Book Burning May 28, 2009

Las Cruces, NM –The first in a series of special programs in conjunction with the exhibit “Fighting the Fires of Hate: America and the Nazi Book Burnings”, is set for Thursday, May 28, 2009 at the Branigan Cultural Center. Dr. Andrea Orzoff, associate professor of history at NMSU, will discuss the Nazi attack on German culture and its relationship to the Holocaust. The lecture begins at 7:00 p.m.

In 1821, poet Heinrich Heine wrote, “Where they burn books, they will in the end also burn people.” Heine was referring to the Spanish Inquisition, but his prediction came horribly true for his homeland, where beginning in May 1933 the Nazis burned and censored books they deemed to contain dangerous ideas.

“Fighting the Fires of Hate” provides a vivid look at the first steps the Nazis took to suppress freedom of expression, and the strong response that occurred in the United States. The book burnings became a potent symbol during World War II in America’s battle against Nazism. In addition to Thursday’s lecture, the Thomas Branigan Memorial Library has a display of banned books and a bibliography on books on censorship. The exhibit remains on display at the Cultural Center through July 18th.

The Branigan Cultural Center, 501 N. Main Street, is located at the north end of the Downtown Mall in Las Cruces. The exhibit and lecture is free and open to the public. Galleries are open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information about exhibits, contact the Branigan Cultural Center at (575) 541-2154 or visit the Center’s web site at www.las-cruces.org/museums