Today, 88 years ago, public book burnings took place in 22 German university cities, in which writings and books by Jewish, pacifist, Marxist, and other authors opposing the Nazi regime were burned as part of the “Aktion wider den undeutschen Geist” (Action against the Un-German Spirit).
These burnings were carried out by the German Student Union, the umbrella organization of the General Student Committees at the time, under the leadership of the National Socialist German Student Union (NSDStB).
Thus, it was primarily students who systematically organized and implemented the book burnings; in the days leading up to May 10 and into June additional burnings took place all over Germany.
The burning of the works of authors such as Erich Kästner, Albert Einstein, Heinrich Heine, Franz Kafka and Nelly Sachs was accompanied by an occupational ban, a ban of publication, and later also persecution and imprisonment for those affected.
Publisher Peter Suhrkamp said in 1947 on the Opernplatz in Berlin:
“The flames that first pelted over the heaps of books later engulfed in a firestorm our cities, human dwellings, the people themselves. It is not the day of the book burning alone that must be remembered, but this chain: from the bonfire of pleasure in that square to the synagogue fires to the fires from heaven on the cities.” (translated from German)
On a more personal note: originally, a Flea Market for books was planned for today, but unfortunately, we had to cancel it due to the pandemic.
Instead, we would like to encourage you to visit the public bookcases in Aachen and take advantage of their offer to find new things to read for yourself and to pass on reading material – everyone benefits from sharing knowledge and stories!
Here you can find the public bookcases in Aachen: https://www.aachen.de/DE/kultur_freizeit/kultur/buecherschraenke_ac/index.html
(lh)