The Johns Hopkins University
George Peabody Library
presents

The Mencken Paradox:  Was H. L. Mencken an Anti-Semite?

An illustrated lecture and book signing by Mencken scholar David Stewart Thaler examines the persistent assertion that Baltimore Sun reporter and writer Henry Louis Mencken was anti-Semitic.

Sunday, November 19, 3:30 p.m.
George Peabody Library
17 E. Mt. Vernon Place
Baltimore

          H.L. Mencken, ca. 1917.      
               Photograph courtesy of the Maryland Historical Society

Often mistaken for being Jewish, Mencken could speak some Yiddish, enjoyed kosher food, and dined during the High Holidays at the home of his Jewish friends.  Yet he sometimes wrote disparagingly of them, and failed to publicly denounce Hitler.

Based on his book The Mencken Paradox, published in 2006 by Mercury House Press, Thaler offers an insightful new analysis of the political and social climate in early 20th century Baltimore, Mencken’s relationship with the German Jews, and its effect on his attitude toward the burgeoning Eastern European Jewish community.

Copies of the book will be available for sale and a reception and book signing will follow the talk.  The event is free and open to the public but seating for the lecture is limited; for reservations please call 410.516.7943.