Banned, Persecuted, Remembered. A Project Week in Memory of the National Socialist Book Burning in 1933

When books were burned in Berlin on May 10, 1933, Erich Kästner stood in the crowd and watched as people threw stacks of his books into the fire. Books for children and young people were also on the Nazis' "black list" and were banned from libraries and bookshops. These included novels by German-Jewish authors Ruth Rewald, Else Ury and Alex Wedding, the politically persecuted Lisa Tetzner, as well as almost all books by Erich Kästner. Book burnings also took place on Königsplatz in Munich. Today, May 10, 1933 stands for the brutal persecution of Jewish and politically unwelcome authors.

During a project week in the run-up to the anniversary, pupils will explore the memories and effects as well as current demands on this topic and work together to create a staged performance. They will alternate between the Munich NS Documentation Center and the International Youth Library at Blutenburg Castle - two institutions that have made it a central concern to give space to the commemoration and reappraisal of this incisive historical event together with pupils.

Director: Lena Scholle, theater educator

Schools from Munich and the surrounding area are cordially invited to the performance on May 7, 2024 at 10am. A visit to the performance can be combined with a tour of the exhibitions at the Munich Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism.

A project in cooperation with the Munich Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism.