Press release in commemoration of the student book burning on 10.05.1933

10 May is a dark day in the history of Uni Würzburg. In April and early May 1933, members of the Würzburg student body at that time (sic!) collected numerous literary works from various libraries. These included above all works by Jewish authors and those classified as critical of the regime. This action was part of the nationwide "Action Against the Un-German Spirit" – the deliberate suppression of all opponents of National Socialism through censorship of their literary, cultural and scientific works.

The collected books were finally burnt on 10 May 1933 after a propaganda speech on Residenzplatz. The affected writers include Heinrich Mann, Kurt Tucholsky, Alfred Döblin, Kasimir Edschmid, Lion Feuchtwanger, Leonhard Frank, Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, Klaus Mann, Nelly Sachs, Anna Seghers, Arthur Schnitzler, Arnold Zweig and Stefan Zweig. For many of them, this act of destruction of their works was also the beginning of their personal persecution. Whilst some were forced to flee abroad, others were imprisoned and killed. Felix Fechenbach, who grew up in Würzburg and was a Social Democrat and journalist, was already arrested in March 1933 and later murdered during transport to Dachau concentration camp.

The book burning was carried out by students of our university – by members of that institution whose successors we are today. We as student representation consciously accept the historical responsibility for these events. We condemn the book burning of 1933 and everything it stood for: racism, antisemitism and the suppression of free thought. We are committed to ensuring that this crime is not forgotten, and we pledge ourselves through commemorative events, political education work and consistent action against every form of hostility towards people to ensure that nothing comparable happens again.

The student representation of Uni Würzburg therefore consciously advocates for those values that were suppressed under National Socialism: for freedom of science and opinion, for religious freedom and equality, for the protection of minorities and for a pluralistic, open community at our university. We understand it as our task to represent these principles concretely in university everyday life – through engagement against discrimination, through the promotion of diverse perspectives and through advocacy for free scientific discourse.