​The Friends of Marlborough Public Library Presents 'The Wall: JFK and Berlin' by Dr. Gary Hylander.

From The Friends of Marlborough Public Library: The Friends of Marlborough Public Library are pleased to announce the fourth program of their 2016-2017 Special Program Series for Wednesday, Feb. 8 th at 7 PM. 2017 will mark the 100 th anniversary of the birth of the 35th president, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. In honor of that celebration the Friends’ special program will feature- “The Wall: JFK and Berlin” presented by Dr. Gary Hylander.

Join the Friends as we take a step back in time when at the end of WWII the main Allied powers: the US, France, Great Britain and the Soviet Union divided Germany into two zones. The Soviet Union occupied East Germany under a rigidly controlled communist state. The others occupied West Germany and help rebuild the country as a capitalist democracy. However, the city of Berlin, located 200 miles inside of East Germany was also divided with West Berlin actually being part of West Germany.

From the end of the war until 1961 four million East Germans crossed into West Berlin where they either settled or found transportation to West Germany and beyond. This mass exodus illustrated the East German’s dissatisfaction with communist rule and posed an economic threat as East Germany was losing a large part of their work force.

In the June of 1961 President Kennedy traveled to Vienna for a summit with Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev. The summit was not only unsuccessful but it increased tension between the two superpowers, especially regarding the divided city of Berlin. In August of 1961, the ability to pass between the two sides of Berlin came to an abrupt halt. The construction of the Berlin Wall created a physical, concrete representation of the struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Berlin crisis became a central moment in the Cold War and a defining moment for the Kennedy Administration.

Dr. Gary Hylander earned his Ph.D. at Boston College. His advisor and dissertation director was noted Boston historian Thomas H. O’Connor. A retired college professor, Dr. Hylander is currently an independent scholar who specializes as a presidential historian and pedagogical specialist for the NEH. Dr. Hylander is a frequent lecturer at library forums, historical societies, senior centers and professional organizations and has appeared several times in the Friends Special Program Series.

This program will take place in Bigelow Auditorium at Marlborough Public Library located at 35 West Main Street, Marlborough. Admission is free and open to the public and the auditorium is fully handicapped accessible.

This event is the fourth in the 2016-2017 Special Program Series as the Friends celebrate their 47 th year of enriching the cultural lives of residents. This program is funded and sponsored in part by the Ezra Cutting Trust-Bank of America Trustee; a grant from the Marlborough Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; by The Friends Memorial Fund; and a gift from the Cummings Properties in honor of Ginger Ryan.

For more information contact: Peggy Schwarz Ayres, Friends Special Program Series Chair at 508-481-7118 or writeathome@hotmail.com or Ray Johnson at 413-648- 9663 or rajohnson736@gmail.com or go to TheFriends website www.mpl-friends.org. Like us on our Facebook Page—Friends of Marlborough Public library.

Image Courtesy Of Friends Of Marlborough Public Library