Library - the Monument about the Burning of Books

image author: Gisela Pape


The Bebelplatz, Unter den Linden, once the Opernplatz with the Old Royal Library, is also the place where the 'book burning' took place on the 10th of May 1933, when national socialist students burned thousands of books from despicable un-German authors like Heinrich and Thomas Mann, Erich Kästner, Stefan Zweig, Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx, Alfred Kerr, Kurt Tucholsky and many other writer.

After the National Socialists came to power in 1933, book burnings, which happened also in many other German university towns, were the highlight of the campaign 'Against the un-German Intellect'. This was prepared by the main office for press and propaganda of the German student body and was used as intellectual elimination of the public and university opposition.

Propaganda Minister Goebbels supported the book burning in Berlin with a diatribe against the 'ostracised' Jewish socialist and democratic authors, which had no place at the NS-art and culture. During the 'cleansing' of public and private libraries of 'degenerate literature' done by 'black lists' around 10.000 hundredweight literature was confiscated in Berlin alone until the end of May 1933.

The monument by the international renowned sculptor Micha Ullman, member of the Academy of Arts, acts as a reminder of this sombre event since 1995.

image author: Gisela Pape

The sunken 'Library', the monument about the book burning - an underground room in the middle of the Bebelplatz, an in-ground library with empty shelves that can be viewed through a pane from above.

With the inscription:

Das war ein Vorspiel Nur dort
wo man Bücher verbrennt verbrennt
man am Ende auch Menschen
Heinrich Heine 1820

(This was a prelude

Where they burn books, they will ultimately also burn people)

'Bibliothek' by Micha Ullman
Monument
The Burning of Books on the 10th of May 1933
built 1994/95


In the middle of this place
National Socialist students burned
on the 10th of May 1933 works from hundreds of free authors, publicists, philosophers and scientists

image author: Gisela Pape