Standing tall as centers of cultural preservation, history and education, libraries hold a powerful symbolic value for any invested community. Nowhere is this clearer than during World War II, when many libraries, archives and other collections across Europe became victims of shelling, bombing, burning and looting, often by Nazi forces eager to tighten their grip in occupied territories. In a decade-long campaign, the Third Reich helped destroy more books, libraries, manuscripts, archives, maps, prints and incunables than those lost in all previous wars combined.
This systematic destruction of knowledge makes this traumatic period vital for a fuller understanding of the historical and cultural importance of libraries. Perhaps by examining these libricidal attacks on European and Jewish culture in occupied territories, we can also see how the Reich's senseless destruction of occupied libraries played a vital role in both advancing and ultimately toppling the Nazi regime.
This systematic destruction of knowledge makes this traumatic period vital for a fuller understanding of the historical and cultural importance of libraries. Perhaps by examining these libricidal attacks on European and Jewish culture in occupied territories, we can also see how the Reich's senseless destruction of occupied libraries played a vital role in both advancing and ultimately toppling the Nazi regime.