Final weeks of the Exhibit: “Fighting the Fires of Hate: America and the Nazi Book Burnings” July 14, 2009

Las Cruces, NM – July marks the final weeks for the traveling exhibit “Fighting the Fires of Hate: America and the Nazi Book Burnings” on display at the Branigan Cultural Center. The exhibit will close on Wednesday, July 15th.

“Fighting the Fires of Hate,” a nationally touring traveling exhibit from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum examines the suppression of freedom of expression. The exhibit 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.

Barnes & Noble Booksellers currently has a display of books banned by the Nazis. Many of the books are now considered classics such as A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway and the Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. In the final weeks of the exhibit several special programs are scheduled, including a movie screening and encore concert.

Storm Center (1956) stars Bette Davis as a librarian asked to remove a book from the shelves and was the first overtly anti-McCarthyism film to be produced in Hollywood. The movie focuses on two very controversial subjects, Communism and book banning, and took a strong stance against censorship. The movie will be shown on Wednesday, July 8th at 1:00 p.m. at the Branigan Cultural Center. There is no charge to attend.

In an encore performance, the Las Cruces Friends of Chamber Music will present a concert at 3:00 p.m. Sunday, July 12th at the Branigan Cultural Center. The concert features the work of two composers that were banned in Nazi Germany. Tickets are $5.00 each and available from the Las Cruces Friends of Chamber Music by calling (575) 523-7714 (no advance tickets available at the Cultural Center).

The Branigan Cultural Center, 501 N. Main Street, is located at the north end of the Downtown Mall in Las Cruces. The exhibit and movie are 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 las-cruces.org/museums