Book burning and the destruction of libraries, havee happened regularly over the course of history, but more so during wartime. This post will look at some of these instances, beginning with Nazi Germany.
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| Book burning in Berlin, May 1933. |
1933, Nazi Germany
Books were one of the first casulties of the NAZI regime when Hitler seized power in 1933. The NAZIs organized mass burnings of books written by Jews or expressing objectional ideas. Throughout the spring of 1933, NAZI student organizations, professors, and librarians compiled an extensive lists of books they determined to be "entartet" (degenerate) and should not be read by decent Germans. On the night of 10 May, in most university towns, nationalist students marched in torchlight parades "against the un-German spirit." The scripted rituals called for high Nazi officials, professors, rectors, and student leaders to address the participants and spectators. At the meeting places, students threw the pillaged and unwanted books into the bonfires with great joyous ceremony, band-playing, songs, "fire oaths," and incantations. More than 20,000 books were burned at the Berlin Opernplatz book burning alone. , English writer H.G. Wells; and of course, notable Jewish authors such as Franz Werfel, Max Brod, and Stefan Zweig. Especially notable among those works burned were the writings of beloved nineteenth-century German-Jewish poet Heinrich Heine, who wrote in his 1820-1821 play Almansor the famous admonition, Dort, wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen: Where they burn books, they will also burn people.
Among the authors whose books student leaders burned that night numbered well-known socialists such as Bertolt Brecht and August Bebel; the founder of the concept of communism, Karl Marx; critical “bourgeois” writers like the Austrian playwright Arthur Schnitzler, and “corrupting foreign influences,” among them American authors Ernest Hemingway, Jack London and Helen Keller
Over the course of the next twelve years, one hundred million books (according to one estimate) would accompany six million human beings into the flames of the Holocaust. Below are some of the examples of books and libraries lost during the Second World War.
1939-1945, Germany
The Second World War proved disastrous for German libraries. Millions of books have been lost, although many of the most precious works have been preserved by storage elsewhere; it has been estimated that a third of all German books were destroyed.
1939-1945, Poland
After the German occupation of Poland, the Germans embarked upon a policy of ruthless destruction of Polish libraries, archives and museums. In 1939 the Western provinces were occupied and they lost nearly all their public and private libraries. In October 1944, the National Library in Warsaw was completely destroyed, with the loss of about 700,000 volumes, including almost all manuscripts and older printed works as well as the print, music and map collections. The Central Military Library, containing 350,000 books on the history of Poland, was totally wrecked, including the Rapperswil Library deposited there for safekeeping. On the eve of the German evacuation of Poland in January 1945, the main stacks of the Warsaw Public Library were burned. Many other books were taken to Germany and were only partially recovered after the war. According to one estimate, 15 million out of 22,5 million volumes in Polish libraries were destroyed.
1940-1944, Italy
Italian libraries suffered damage as a result of allied and German air raids. More than 20 Municipal libraries were destroyed and many public libraries suffered the same fate. It has been estimated that almost 2 million printed works and 39,000 manuscripts were destroyed.
1941-1944, Soviet Union
As a result of the German invasion, heavy damage was done to Russian libraries. It has been estimated that more than 100 million books have been destroyed, mainly from public libraries.
1944-1945, Hungary
Nearly all small libraries (public, special) were destroyed and many of the larger libraries suffered serious damage during the siege of Budapest. The libraries of Parliament and of the Academy of Sciences were among the libraries most severely hit; the library of the Polytechnic Institute was completely destroyed.
There has also been other instances of book burning and destruction of libraries since then also. Below are a couple of examples:
There has also been other instances of book burning and destruction of libraries since then also. Below are a couple of examples:
1992, Sarajevo
On the night of August 25, 1992, Serb Nationalists, led by general Ratko Mladic, opened fire on the Bosnian National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at Sarajevo, was bombarded by incendiary shells and more than a million books and printed manuscripts were destroyed, including over 150,000 rare books.
Andras Riedlmayer, a librarian, scholar and activist, called it “arguably the worst single case of deliberate book burning in history in absolute terms.” He also thought the motive was apparent by adding, “Throughout Bosnia, libraries, archives, museums and cultural institutions have been targeted for destruction, in an attempt to eliminate the material evidence – books, documents and works of art – that could remind future generations that people of different ethnic and religious traditions, once shared a common heritage…” (Battles, M 2004 pp272-274) 1.
Andras Riedlmayer, a librarian, scholar and activist, called it “arguably the worst single case of deliberate book burning in history in absolute terms.” He also thought the motive was apparent by adding, “Throughout Bosnia, libraries, archives, museums and cultural institutions have been targeted for destruction, in an attempt to eliminate the material evidence – books, documents and works of art – that could remind future generations that people of different ethnic and religious traditions, once shared a common heritage…” (Battles, M 2004 pp272-274) 1.
2003, Iraq
Assault on Iraq, by American and British armed forces cost not only thousands of civilian and military lives, but also brought graphic reports of the destruction of much of the country’s precious material heritage.
Within 48 hours, looters had emptied the National Museum of more than 170,000 arftifacts, while the National Library and Archive was set alight. The National Library and Archives, established in Baghdad in 1920, held priceless Ottoman historical documents, including the old royal archives of Iraq. These documents of Arab History were turned into ashes in 3,000 degrees of heat.
A report was later given by Saad Eskander, the director–general of the National Library and Archive, regarding the destruction. He noted that three days before the invasion, library staff were told to destroy all archival material and sensitive records about Saddam Hussein's government . Eskander also reported that the destruction was performed by “a mix of poor people looking for a quick profit, along with regime loyalists intent on destroying evidence of atrocities”. (Battles, M 2004 pp272-274) 1.
Within 48 hours, looters had emptied the National Museum of more than 170,000 arftifacts, while the National Library and Archive was set alight. The National Library and Archives, established in Baghdad in 1920, held priceless Ottoman historical documents, including the old royal archives of Iraq. These documents of Arab History were turned into ashes in 3,000 degrees of heat.
A report was later given by Saad Eskander, the director–general of the National Library and Archive, regarding the destruction. He noted that three days before the invasion, library staff were told to destroy all archival material and sensitive records about Saddam Hussein's government . Eskander also reported that the destruction was performed by “a mix of poor people looking for a quick profit, along with regime loyalists intent on destroying evidence of atrocities”. (Battles, M 2004 pp272-274) 1.
Other libraries burnt during the Gulf War, include: the Al-Awqaf Library (Ministry of Religious Affairs), the Central Library of the University of Baghdad, and the Library of Bayt al-Hikma centre (believed to be completely destroyed).
Finally, the curious case of a Belgian University Library
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| The ruins of the Leuven University Library, after it was burned by German forces in 1914. |
The Leuven University Library, in Belgium, has had a particularly tragic past. First it was torched by German troops, shortly after the invasion of Belgium in 1915, and more than ¼ million volumes were lost in the destructive fire. This act of violence caused uproar throughout the world and several, mostly American, charities were established to compensate the loss, so in 1921 work was begun to build a new library, on the square now known as Ladeuzeplein. The book, Lost Libraries, states the library was consumed by fire, again in 1923, following an earthquake; however other sources have the library being under construction between 1921 and 1928. Either way, it was destroyed again in May 1940, during the second German invasion of Leuven. The building largely burnt down, including its 900,000 manuscripts and books, but the blaze is thought to have started in an exchange of fire between the two armies, rather than a deliberate act. To finish this story on a happier note, the library was restored (yet again!), and is now the Central Library of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, which houses more than a million volumes.
Notes:
There is vast amounts of information available on book burning and the destruction of libraries, during wartime, especially Nazi Germany. The first place I sought information was from the book I have used for most of the posts, and a great source of reliable information, Library: An unquiet history, written by Matthew Battles. I also used a couple of different websites and an e-journal found.
References
'1933 May 10 Berlin Book Burning' [image], Wikipedia Commons, viewed 19 May, 2011,
1. Battles, M 2004, Library: an unquiet history, W. W. Norton, New York.
dizzo95 2009, Nazi Book Burning Rally, 8 January, viewed 19 May 2011,
'Louvain Library WW1'[image], Wikipedia Commons, viewed 19 May, 2011,
Nazi Book Burnings 2002, Histclo Boys' Clothing, viewed 18 May, 2011,
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