From the ashes of a Nazi bonfire in Germany on May 10, 1933, the nucleus of ## unique American library has arisen.
On that date 20,000 books were fed to the names throughout Adolph Hitler’s Third Reich, because their authors held and wrote of ide##s that were considered inimica to Germany.
Hardly had the ashes of this conflagration coole# than the rest of the world began to set on foot plans to give special honor both to the volumes thus immolated and to their authors.
Paris started such a library. London was not long in following suit.
BROOKLYN CENTER JOINS
New York, site of one of the world’s greatest collections of books and huge center of publishing activities, was not far behind.
A movement was started to gat together under one roof as many copies of the burned volumes as possible and culminated Saturday night in the dedication ceremonies before a distinguished audience of civic leaders, liberals, clergymen, authors and booklovers at the Brooklyn Jewish Center.
Started by the Brooklyn Jewish Center, the library will be temporarily housed under its roof at 667 Eastern Parkway until a more central point is found for it in Manhattan.
NOTABLES COMMEND PROJECT
Officials of the Center have ex-pressed the hope that by the time the second anniversary of the Nazi bonfire arrives. May 10, 1935, the library will have on its shelves the full quota of 20,000 books. At the dedication ceremonies there was a total of 500 volumes available.
Official opening of the library was marked ### the receipt of many messages from literary notables throughout the world. Among the outstanding greetings are the following sent through the medium of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and The Jewish Daily Bulletin by Bertrand Russell, philosopher, Lion Feuchtwanger, novelist and Andre Gide, Frenchman, known as “the novelist’s novelist because of the flawlessness of his art:
“I s### warmest good wishes to Prof A bert Einstein and Heinz Liepmann, American Library Dinne# tomorrow and congratulate the Brooklyn Jewish Center on its valuable effort in inaugurating an American Library for Nazi burnt books. Bertrand Russell.”
“The Nazi bonfire did not kill
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
