Dozens of people gathered on Bebelplatz to commemorate the book burning 90 years ago Photo: Ralph Guenther
By Lou Siebert
90 years after the book burnings of May 10, 1933, dozens of people came together on Berlin’s Bebelplatz to take a stand against exclusion and hatred.
The event, organized by the State Library, was accompanied by music by ensembles from the Barenboim-Said Academy and the State Opera and various literary contributions.
Cherim Adelhöfer (51, librarian at the State Library): “I wanted to commemorate the authors on this day. As a librarian, that’s just part of it for me” Photo: Ralph Guenther
Politicians and celebrities, such as Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (67, Greens), ex-Senator for Culture Klaus Lederer (49, Left) and the Greens MP Tessa Ganserer (49) as well as the actress Natalia Wörner (55) read original literature during the Nazi period was indexed and burned.
The thought: where 90 years ago pyres made of books were lit, the burned works were now being heard again. Passers-by and interested people gathered to pause and listen.
Magnus Habighorst (25, research associate at Humboldt University): “It is important not to forget the fate of our colleagues in science” Photo: Ralph Guenther
On May 10, 1933, National Socialist students had books by numerous authors on Berlin’s Opernplatz (today Bebelplatz) as “non-German literature”. burned – including works by Bertolt Brecht, Alfred Döblin, Erich Kästner, Erich Maria Remarque, Anna Seghers and Kurt Tucholsky.