Lectures

A film directed and written by Tim Gray and narrated by Tom Selleck *90-minute showingThis 2016 documentary is shown in honor of the 80th anniversary of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. It includes interviews with servicemen and civilians who watched the Japanese planes drop their torpedoes and bombs on a stunned American […]

Presented by Jane OneailThis program is free – courtesy of the NH Humanities Council Norman Rockwell created dozens of images related to World War II. What happens when an artist known for his humor tackles the serious subject of war? Oneail explores how Rockwell’s work departs from earlier artistic interpretations of American conflicts. She also […]

Lecture by Richard A. Lobban, Jr., Ph.D.Richard Lobban sets the stage of World War II Africa by discussing the political and military situation on the continent before the war, Africa’s occupation and “effective control” after the Berlin Congress, and the partition of Africa. Lobban also explains the unintended consequences of the war on African nationalism […]

Lecture by Dr. C. Paul VincentThe Soviet liberation of Auschwitz on 27 January 1945 symbolizes the end of the Holocaust. Dachau was liberated by American soldiers three months later, one day before Hitler committed suicide. Yet the collapse of the camps had already begun in parallel with the implosion of Nazi Germany. The concentration camps […]

Lecture by Linda MatchettSpies have always fascinated us, and the iconic image of a glamourous woman using her wiles to extract secrets from enemies is particularly compelling. However, the reality of how thousands of female operatives served extends far beyond the stereotype. Listen to first-hand, hair-raising accounts about the world-wide exploits of these stalwart women. […]

Lecture and book signing by author Judith SumnerAs the first botanical history of World War II, Plants Go to War examines military history from the perspective of plant science. From victory gardens to drugs, timber, rubber, and fibers, plants supplied materials that played key roles in winning the war. Vegetables provided the wartime diet both […]

90-minute DocumentaryThis 2011 documentary film is shown in honor of the 80th anniversary of the formation of the first African-American Army Air Corps Squadron in January 1941. In Their Own Words tells the story of the African-American pilots who fought to protect the skies during WWII. Complete with personal interviews with 20 of the original Airmen, […]

Lecture and book signing by author Dr. Julien AyotteCode Name Lily is an historical fiction novel based on the true story of Micheline “Michou” Dumon-Ugeux (code name Lily), who was a legend in the Comet Line escape network in Belgium during World War II. Lily was responsible for helping over 250 downed British and American […]

Lecture by Dr. Giovanni FrisoneIn September 1943, when an armistice was signed with the Allies, Italian soldiers thought the war had ended for them. Instead, they were arrested by the Germans and given a choice: disregard the armistice and continue fighting under Fascist or Nazi command or be taken to a German prison camp. An […]

Lecture and book signing by Jane HealeyIn The Beantown Girls, author Jane Healey places us to the final harrowing months of World War II in Europe, and brings it painfully, beautifully, heartbreakingly alive. A literary critic said of the novel: “Through the eyes of Fiona Denning, a Red Cross Clubmobile worker, and her colleagues, we […]

A One Woman Play by Catherine LadnierJourney through the tumultuous years of World War II through the letters of one American soldier to his sister on the home front. Eva Lee Brown kept the home fires burning on the family farm in South Carolina while her brother, Bill, served in the China Burma India theatre […]

Lecture and book signing by Author Rick Beyers Admission $15 non-members, $12 membersIn the summer of 1944, a handpicked group of young GIs landed in France to conduct a secret mission. Armed with truckloads of inflatable tanks, a massive collection of sound-effects records, and more than a few tricks up their sleeves, they created a […]