Books laid to commemorate WWII bombing of National Library

BELGRADE - The National Library of Serbia was razed to the ground in the first hours of the Nazi bombing of Belgrade on this day in 1941.

Just like every year on this day, representatives of the Serbian government, diplomatic corps, city leaders and citizens gathered in Kosancic Venac Street to commemorate the event on Monday.

They all laid a book at the bombing site to mark a symbolic return of books to the place where part of Serbia's and global heritage was destroyed, and these books will be given away to libraries with the poorest book funds in the country at the end of the month.

Minister of Culture and Information Ivan Tasovac said that Belgrade was being destroyed in wars as many as 38 times, but history, which had remembered a huge number of warriors remembered as many builders as well.

It rests with us now to commit to being just such a generation, Tasovac said, expressing the hope that books would really return to Kosancicev Venac in the not too distant future.

On April 6, 1941, the National Library of Serbia's fund of about 350,000 books, including invaluable medieval manuscripts and a collection of antiques, were completely destroyed by Nazi bombs.

Photo Tanjug/Nemanja Jovanovic