The American Jewish Museum of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh explores contemporary Jewish art with programs that facilitate dialogue about art, philosophy, and culture. Explore contemporary Jewish exhibitions that focus on art, philosophy, and culture.
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Current Exhibits / Past
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Society of Sculptors @ 75 Years

September 7-October 10, 2010
Fine Perlow Gallery Weis Gallery

Opening Reception: Sunday, September 12, 2010  l  1-3 pm
Sponsored by Bernard and Marsha Marcus

The AJM hosts the Pittsburgh Society of Sculptors' 75th anniversary exhibition curated by Joy Miller, exhibitions curator for the Las Cruces Museum of Art in Las Cruces, N.M. The exhibit features diverse and complelling work of 14 of the region's most notable sculptors, and follows on the heels of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh's 100th year anniversary exhibition.

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Fighting the Fires of Hate: America and the Nazi Book Burnings

October 13-December 31, 2010
Fine Perlow Weis Gallery and Berger Gallery

Opening Reception: Tuesday, October 19  l  7-9 pm  l  Levinson Hall
Keynote address with Tim Kaiser, Dir. Educational Resources & Wexner Center, USHMM
Behind the Scenes: Background and Development of Fighting the Fires of Hate  l  7 pm
Admission is free, space is limited. RSVP at 412-421-1500

"Where one burns books, one soon burns people."
-Heinrich Heine, 19th century German-Jewish writer

The AJM and the Holocaust Center of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh present an exhibition organized and circulated by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Fighting the Fires of Hate: America and the Nazi Book Burnings.

In 1933, German students supported by the Nazi party attempted to burn all works they deemed "Un-German." Targeted authors included Bertolt Brecht, Helen Keller, Ernest Hemingway, Sigmund Freud, and Karl Marx. As free expression was cosigned to the fire, the flames foreshadowed future Nazi atrocities. This breach of fundamental democratic values was enough to elicit a response from Americans, long before they entered World War II. Even during wartime, condemnation of book burnings was a rallying point against the Nazis. Nearly eighty years later, the Nazi book burning legacy continues as extremist groups ban and burn literature such as the Harry Potter series and Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. Employing artifacts, newsreel footage, documents, video and other forms of multimedia, the exhibition explores the book burnings, America's immediate reaction, the burnings' role in the American war effort, and the contemporary discourse on censorship.

Docent-led tours can be arranged by contacting the Holocaust Center at 412-421-1500.

Click here for more information about the exhibition.

Photo Credit:
Books Are Weapons in the War of Ideas poster produced by the Office of War Information. This poster featuring a quote from President Roosevelt was one in a series. Credit: Courtesy U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Support for the American Jewish Museum is provided by the Allegheny Regional Asset District, the Anna L. Caplan & Irene V. Caplan Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh Foundation, Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts, the regional arts funding partnership of the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts, and the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. Media sponsorship is provided by WDUQ 90.5 FM.

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Partners

Please visit the web sites of the organizations that generously support the American Jewish Museum and its exhibitions.

General support for the American Jewish Museum is provided by the Allegheny Regional Asset District, the Anna L. Caplan & Irene V. Caplan Philanthropic Fund of the United Jewish Federation Foundation, the Jewish Healthcare Foundation and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Media sponsorship is provided by WDUQ 90.5 FM.