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Frankfurt Book Burning Memorial

Somber memorial to the May 10, 1933, book-burning which took place on this spot.

Frankfurt, Germany

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Bird Bones
More than 25,000 books were burned on this site.   Bird Bones / Atlas Obscura User
The memorial in Römerberg Square commemorates one of the horrifying acts committed under the Third Reich.   Bird Bones / Atlas Obscura User
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Römerberg Square, in the center of Frankfurt's Altstadt, is home to a haunting monument that many visitors miss on first glance. Tear your eyes away from the historic buildings and look down at the pavement, where a memorial plaque reads: "At this place on May 10, 1933 National Socialist students burnt books by authors, scientists and publicists."

Records show that these Nazi sympathizers burned more than 25,000 books deemed "un-German." Gedenkplatte Bücherverbrennung, or book burning memorial, includes a quote by German-Jewish writer Heinrich Heine, stating, "That was just the beginning. Where one burns books, in the end, people are burnt as well."

 

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World War Ii History Books Memorials

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The plaque is free to visit. 

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Added By

Bird Bones

Published

April 3, 2024

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