NationalLibraryBelgrade

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NATIONAL LIBRARY, Belgrade

The fine Neo-classical building of the National Library, once situated at the heart of Old Town, was bombed by Nazi airplanes at the beginning of April 1941. Incendiary bombs were dropped and everything inside the library had been destroyed - more than 350.000 printed books, 1.500 valuable medieval manuscripts, all cartographic staff and many other precious items. However, archaeological excavations on the site in the mid-1970s revealed some signs of additional looting of the library's fund remains, carried out by Nazis shortly after the bombing.

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Collatoral Damage

intercepted:

COMMUNITY OF LIBRARIES OF SERBIA

BELGRADE - SKERLICEVA 1

A MESSAGE TO EUROPEAN BUREAU OF LIBRARY, INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTATION ASSOCIATIONS

WE, THE LIBRARIES OF SERBIA, GUARDIANS OF CULTURAL TREASURE, GATHERED IN THE COMMUNITY OF LIBRARIES OF SERBIA, OUR FREE AND DEMOCRATIC ASSOCIATION, ARE TURNING TO ALL THE MEMBERS OF EBLIDA. RAISE YOUR VOICE IN ORDER THAT ON THE EVE OF THE THIRD MILLENNIUM BE NOT REPEATED THE GREATEST CIVILIZATION TRAGEDY FOR THE THIRD TIME - THAT NATIONAL LIBRARIES OF SERBIA DO NOT HAVE THE EXPERIENCE OF THE ALEXANDRIA LIBRARY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FIRST MILLENNIUM AND OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SERBIA IN 1941, WHEN BARBARIAN MADNESS, WITH FIRE AND BOBMS, TRIED TO DESTROY THE COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE AND SPIRIT OF THE HELLENIC AND SERBIAN CULTURE.

THE BOMBING ATTACKS OF THE MILITANT OFFICIALS OF AMERICA AND CERTAIN EUROPEAN GOVERNMENTS ENDANGERED CULTURAL MONUMENTS AND 800 YEAR OLD WRITTEN HERITAGE OF THE SERBS AND OF OTHER PEOPLES, STORED IN THE LIBRARIES OF SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO. THE INQUISITORS OF THE WORLD CULTURAL HERITAGE ARE TRYING TO BURN AT THE STAKE ONE OF THE OLDEST EUROPEAN CULTURES. OUR MEMBERS, NATIONAL LIBRARIES IN LESKOVAC, PRISTINA, PRIZREN AND OTHER CITIES, HAVE BEEN IMPERILLED BY NATO BOMBS TO A GREAT EXTENT.

IN THE NAME OF KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURE, WE ARE APPEALING TO THE EUROPEAN AND WORLD LIBRARIES AND LIBRARIANS TO SUPPORT THE ENDING OF THE DESTRUCTION OF A PART OF THE EUROPEAN HERITAGE, WHICH IS IN OUR COUNTRY.

OUR SCIENCE, EDUCATION AND CULTURE, AS YOU KNOW FROM OUR PREVIOUS COOPERATION, HAVE WORTHILY PARTICIPATED IN OUR MUTUAL JOB OF LIBRARIANS, IN THE LOVE FOR BOOKS AND THE SERVING OF THE PROGRESS AND A HAPPIER FUTURE OF THE WORLD.

DEAR COLLEAGUES, HELP US TO PRESERVE, APART FROM OUR AND WORLD CULTURAL TREASURE, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, ITALIAN, SPANISH, BELGIAN, DUTCH, TURKISH, ALBANIAN AND AMERICAN BOOKS WHICH WE HAVE PATIENTLY COLLECTED FOR DECADES AND LEARNED FROM, AND WHICH HAVE BROUGHT OUR CULTURES TOGETHER.

WE ARE ASKING OF YOU TO HELP US TO PREVENT THOSE WHO ARE NOT OF CULTURE TO INTERFERE WITH OUR JOB. WE DEEPLY APPRECIATE THE NOBLE CAUSES OF EBLIDA, THE EUROPEAN BUREAU OF LIBRARY, INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTATION ASSOCIATIONS, AND WE ARE AWAITING ITS HELP AND SUPPORT CONCERNING THE PRESERVATION OF BOOKS AND LIBRARIES.

WITH WARMEST REGARDS, IN THE NAME OF THE COMMUNITY OF LIBRARIES OF SERBIA