Fresno State’s Madden Library facing name change after ‘Nazi sympathies’ discovered

Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval announced in an email to students and faculty on Monday the creation of a renaming task force for the Henry Madden Library after research revealed Madden held “deeply antisemitic views and Nazi sympathies.”

“Last week, my senior leadership team and I were made aware that Henry Madden held deeply antisemitic views and Nazi sympathies, as reflected in his own writings and papers, which are housed in our Library Special Collections,” Jiménez-Sandoval said in the email.

Jiménez-Sandoval said he’s commissioned a “Task Force to Review the Naming of the University Library.”

“The views attributed to Dr. Madden are more than allegations; they are reflections of his beliefs as captured in his own words and in documents he curated and donated to the Library before his passing,” Jiménez-Sandoval said.

The university’s library was named for Madden in 1981.

Jiménez-Sandoval said the writings in question were part of a “special collection” donated by the Madden estate in 1982 with the stipulation they remain sealed until late 2007. Jiménez-Sandoval said such agreements are common.

The information emerged after Bradley W. Hart shared his initial research findings from a 2018 book project, “Hitler’s American Friends,” with students in a class instructed by Lori Clune.

“I want to thank Dr. Hart, and Dr. Clune, and her students for bringing this information to light. Dr. Hart’s clear review of the documents allowed us to take the step of creating a task force to launch a formal review,” Jiménez-Sandoval said.

Students, staff question Madden’s history

Clune said in an interview with The Bee that Hart spoke to her History 174 class, which deals with U.S. history from 1914-1945, via Zoom on Nov. 17. Students asked questions about Madden, who was mentioned in the afterword of Hart’s book.

The students were “horrified” to learn the campus library — a beloved destination for its architectural beauty, gathering space and research — was named after a man with such “abhorrent” views, she said.

“It does speak to the challenge of naming things after people. People can disappoint you,” Clune said. “It’s just a remarkable library on all levels. And so the idea that, on any level, this is negative toward that amazing place is very depressing.”

Clune said the issue illustrates the point of Hart’s book — that people with pro-Nazi attitudes were everywhere in the 1930s and ‘40s, and, like Madden, they were complicated. While Madden’s antisemitic views were “abhorrent,” in the ‘60s and ‘70s he was vocally pro free speech.

“We also in the history department feel strongly that we need to go through his rather extensive collection and really try to understand this very complicated man, … which many folks in history are,” she said.

Clune brought up the issue to her colleagues, and university officials quickly responded.

“I thought, you know, I’m going to reach out to someone who has a bigger perspective on this, in terms of from the perspective of the university itself, because I started to think about the ramifications for the university,” Clune said.

She commended Jiménez-Sandoval for acting quickly and transparently. She also reiterated that the folks who named the library didn’t know about Madden’s views.

In serving on the task force, Clune hopes to minimize harm and do right by the students, faculty and staff on campus.

This story was originally published November 29, 2021 at 4:46 PM.