Libricide

Libricide – The decimation of Polish Libraries in the Second World War

The ruthless and systematic destruction of Polish libraries during World War II was one of the elements of the German policy of exterminating Polish citizens, especially Jews and Poles. Book-burning was carried out in accordance with Adolf Hitler’s doctrine that “no nation outlives the material testimonies of its culture”. The destruction of libraries was a blow aimed directly at the heart of Polish culture.

During World War II, Poland lost approximately 70 percent of its library resources, including more than 90 percent of its most valuable collections. Hundreds of thousands of priceless historical documents of unique character and contents were destroyed – beautifully decorated medieval codices, manuscripts written by the leading Polish writers, rare incunabula and early printed works, collections of drawings, graphics, sheet music and maps. The loss of newer collections – books and magazines – was in the millions of volumes.

The book collections of Warsaw, the centre of scientific and cultural life in pre-war Poland, were the most severely affected by the war damage. The collections of the most important libraries were consumed by fire – the National Library, together with the collections of the Polish Museum in Rapperswil and the Bibliothèque Batignolles in Paris, as well as the Krasiński, Zamoyski and Przezdziecki Libraries.

The collections of university libraries were destroyed, including that of the Warsaw University of Technology, the Free Polish University, the School of Political Sciences, the Military Engineering School, the School of Journalism and the War College. During the September Campaign, the buildings of the University Library and its faculty libraries were also severely damaged.

School libraries lost 93 percent of their books. The collections of many public libraries were completely destroyed. The building of the Warsaw Public Library was set on fire by the Germans on 16 January 1945, one day before the Red Army entered the ruins of Warsaw.

The Central Military Library was destroyed, as were the book collections of key state and public institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Communications, the book collection of the National Institute of Theatre Arts, the library of the Association of Polish Technicians and the libraries of city theatres. Church libraries, as well as libraries belonging to social and private organisations, all suffered catastrophic losses.

The urn containing some of the ashes from the burnt collections symbolises the devastation of Polish libraries. During the occupation, the Germans moved the most valuable collections from the National Library as well as the manuscripts from the University Library to the building of the Krasiński Library on Okólnik Street. This created a collection of almost 75,000 manuscripts and historic maps (including 5,600 musical manuscripts and 13,000 theatre manuscripts), as well as 2,000 incunabula, a collection of engravings, drawings and photographs totalling 160,000 items and 50,000 early printed works, including the collection of the Załuski Library recovered from the Soviet Union under the Treaty of Riga.

After the fall of the Warsaw Uprising in mid-October 1944, contrary to the provisions of the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Warsaw, special Wehrmacht units known as Brandkommandos burned the collections that had been gathered together at Okólnik. The country’s largest collection of manuscripts, the primary source of knowledge about Polish history, were consumed by the flames. Each of them was unique; none will ever be read again. The Krasiński family library, which had been created over centuries, as well as musical scores, maps, engravings, drawings and photographs were destroyed. Polish culture and science are still suffering from this loss.

Ileż was, stare druki, rękopisy, księgi,

Zginęło niepowrotnie w pożarze Warszawy!

Pożarły was płomienie niszczącej potęgi,

Popioły wasze rozwiał wiatr w tym roku krwawym.

Zbiory Krasińskich, raperswilski, batignolski,

Biblioteko Załuskich, mowo dawnej Polski!

Wzlatywałaś na skrzydłach płomieni ku niebu,

Na dymach całopalnych czarnego pogrzebu —

Zdawało się, że słychać w jęku murów, w trzasku

Szyb okiennych – twój jęk ostatni. Anioł śmierci

Przelatywał w szumiących kłębach, w ognia blasku,

Wzbijał czarną kurzawę, źrenicami świecił,

Ryczał trąbą powietrzną, rozwiewał popioły

Ludzi i ksiąg – i płacz ich chwytał w płaszcza poły.

Cóżeś uczynił, łotrze, barbarzyńco głupi?

Zostawiłeś po sobie swąd i zaduch trupi,

Kiedy do wnętrza ziemi wgniotły twe pociski

Gruzów naszej Biblioteki Aleksandryjskiej

Mieczysław Jastrun, Poemat o mowie polskiej.

[How many of you, early printed works, manuscripts, books, / Were lost forever in the fire of Warsaw! / You were devoured by flames of destructive power, / Your ashes were blown away by the wind in that bloody year. / The Krasiński collection, the Rapperswil collection, the Batignolles collection, / The Załuski Library, the language of old Poland! / You rose on wings of flames to the sky, / On the smoke of a black funeral pyre – / It seemed that your last moan could be heard in the groaning of the walls, in the cracking / of the window panes. The Angel of Death / flew in whirling clouds, in the glow of the fire, / He raised black dust clouds, his pupils shone, / He roared with a whirlwind, he scattered the ashes / Of people and books – and their cries were caught in the folds of his cloak. / What have you done, you villain, you stupid barbarian? / You left behind a stench and a putrid odour / As your missiles penetrated the earth / The rubble of our Library of Alexandria.

Mieczysław Jastrun, A Poem about the Polish Language.]