March at The National WWII Museum

Thursday, March 14, 2013
5:00 pm Reception | 6:00 pm Presentation | 7:00 pm Audience Q&A | 7:15 pm Book Signing
Mason Lecture Series – Author and Historian Dr. Arthur Herman presents “Freedom’s Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II”
US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center

Remarkable as it may seem today, there once was a time when the president of the United States could pick up the phone and ask the president of General Motors to resign his position and take the reins of a great national enterprise. And the CEO would oblige, no questions asked, because it was his patriotic duty.

In Freedom’s Forge, bestselling author Arthur Herman takes us back to that time, revealing how two extraordinary American business men — automobile magnate William Knudsen and shipbuilder Henry J. Kaiser — helped corral, cajole and inspire business leaders across the country to mobilize the “arsenal of democracy” that propelled the Allies to victory in World War II.

Dr. Arthur Herman is a former visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, and the author of many books, including How the Scots Invented the Modern World and Gandhi & Churchill which was the 2009 Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction.

This event will take place in the Museum’s new US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center. Registration is strongly encouraged.

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Tuesday, March 19, 2013
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Dinner with a Curator – Lindsey Barnes and Toni Kiser present “Loyal Forces: American Animals in WWII”
Stage Door Canteen

At a time when every American was called upon to contribute to the war effort — whether by enlisting, buying bonds, or collecting scrap metal — the use of American animals during World War II further demonstrates the resourcefulness of the US Army and the many sacrifices that led to the Allies’ victory.

Through 157 photographs from The National WWII Museum collection, Loyal Forces: The American Animals of WWII (LSU Press) captures the heroism, hard work, and innate skills of innumerable animals that aided the military as they fought to protect, transport, communicate, and sustain morale. From the last mounted cavalry charge of the US Army to the 36,000 homing pigeons deployed overseas, service animals made a significant impact on military operations during World War II.

Dinner with a Curator is a seasonal series where Museum staff and guests will discuss a featured topic related to World War II while enjoying a delicious three-course dinner. All dinners catered by Chef John Besh at the Museum’s American Sector restaurant. Space is limited and advance ticket purchase is required.

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Purchase Tickets.

Thursday, March 21, 2013
5:00 pm Reception | 6:00 pm Presentation | 7:00 pm Book Signing
Meet the Author – Craig B. Smith presents “Counting the Days”
Stage Door Canteen

Counting the Days is the story of six prisoners of war imprisoned by both sides during the conflict the Japanese called the “Pacific War.” As in all wars, the prisoners were civilians as well as military personnel. This is the story of their struggles to stay alive, the small daily triumphs that kept them going — and for some, their almost miraculous survival.

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Tuesday, March 26, 2013
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Documentary Screening – Lost Airmen of Buchenwald (2011)
Solomon Victory Theater

Lost Airmen of Buchenwald is a documentary feature film that chronicles the extraordinary journey of 168 Allied airmen illegally imprisoned in the Buchenwald Concentration Camp during World War II. Marked for death, their incredible story of survival has been a source of controversy and secrecy for over six decades.

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COMING SOON

Mondays in April
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Film Screening – “Hogan’s Heroes” (1965)
Stage Door Canteen

Set in a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II, Hogan’s Heroes is lightly based on the play/film, Stalag 17. Hogan’s Heroes focuses on the exploits of five main prisoners of war who, while under the cover of being typical prisoners of war, are really secretly doing their best to sabotage the German war effort through whatever means necessary. The television series ran from 1965 – 1971. Select episodes will be screened and discussed.

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Wednesday, May 8, 2013
5:00 pm Reception | 6:00 pm Presentation | 6:45 pm Audience Q&A | 7:20 pm Book Signing
Exclusive Book Pre-Release Event – ‘The Guns at Last Light’ by Rick Atkinson
US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center
 
The National WWII Museum is honored to announce that we will be hosting the official book release event of Pulitzer Prize winner and best-selling author, Rick Atkinson’s The Guns at Last Light on V-E Day — Wednesday, May 8, 2013. The long-awaited third and final book in Mr. Atkinson’s “Liberation Trilogy” won’t be released to the public on until May 14th, but Museum guests will have the opportunity to buy the book early.

Pre-order the book now from our Museum Store.

Watch our exclusive video interview series with the author.

Thursday, May 30, 2013
5:00 pm Reception | 6:00 pm Presentation | 7:00 pm Book Signing
Meet the Author – Robert Edsel presents “Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nation’s Treasures from the Nazis”
US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center

When Hitler’s armies occupied Italy in 1943, they also seized control of mankind’s greatest cultural treasures. As they had done throughout Europe, the Nazis could now plunder the masterpieces of the Renaissance, the treasures of the Vatican, and the antiquities of the Roman Empire.

On the eve of the Allied invasion, General Dwight Eisenhower empowered a new kind of soldier to protect these historic riches. In May 1944 two unlikely American heroes — artist Deane Keller and scholar Fred Hartt — embarked from Naples on the treasure hunt of a lifetime, tracking billions of dollars of missing art, including works by Michelangelo, Donatello, Titian, Caravaggio, and Botticelli.

Robert M. Edsel is the author of the non-fiction books, Rescuing Da Vinci and The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, as well as the forthcoming book Saving Italy, to be published in Spring 2013. He is the co-producer of the documentary film, The Rape of Europa, and Founder and President of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art. In January 2012 George Clooney announced he would write, direct and star in the film version of Mr. Edsel’s book, The Monuments Men.

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