Books

These days, nine decades have passed since those apocalyptic scenes from Berlin's Opera Square - when books by unsuitable German authors were burned. This ritual took place simultaneously in twenty other cities.

Urban myth says that on May 10, 1933, he was a writer Erich Kestner (drama "School of Dictators"), during his regular evening walk, came across in time to hear the "announcer" shouting: "Against decadence and moral ruin! For upbringing and proper customs in the family and the state. I hand the books over to the flames Heinrich Mann, Ernst Glaser and Erich Kästner..." Even, supposedly, some heated woman by the bonfire saw him and shouted - There he is Kästner, so the writer had to speed up his pace...

The brothers' books were burned that night Male, Tomasa and Heinrich, the pacifists Remark, a classic of children's literature by Erich Kestner, but the "purge" is extended to non-German books such as those signed Hemingway, Maxim Gorky, Jack London...

Classic was also unsuitable Heinrich Heine, whose song Lorelai the Nazis published it in reading books as folk. That poets must be taken seriously as prophets is evidenced by his sentence from 1820: "Where books are burned, in the end people are also burned", which he reminds us of these days S. Spreer in the text for DW.

It was the end of the wonderful "Weimar" spirit in art. The short-lived Weimar Republic "unleashed" incredible creative potential - from Expressionism and Bauhaus to literature (Deblin, Berlin Alexanderplatz) and movie (Murnau). The coming of the Nazis to power will develop all these ideas and artistic practices around the world. And while Germany, in addition to all its generals and ideologues, naturally collapsed without its artists, that "Weimar" pelzer will lead to the cosmopolitanization of modern art in different parts of the world. Brecht and Thomas Mann in emigration did not die out like Stefan Zweig - on the contrary, they became, in different ways, the paradigm of the artist/intellectual of the new age.

Of course, every bonfire like this is an echo of the Alexandria bonfire. The burning of the Library of Alexandria was caused by the Christian frenzy before the magnificent knowledge of the ancient world. Then the bloodthirsty crowd killed the unsurpassed Hypatia, and the crowd was incited by the bishop to commit atrocities Cyril of Alexandria, long ago a Christian saint...

This unhappy anniversary was brought to me by the current Book Fair in Podgorica - if nothing else, it's nice to walk among so many books. Surrounded by books, you are always in Alexandria. Even in the Delta garage.

But never lose sight of the bonfire.

The attitude towards the book is the most reliable indicator of the state of affairs in any society. And the fair is an opportunity to think about the position of the book. In this society, what did the government, former in thirty years, or current, recently, do for the book? Not for good writers or obedient publishers, but for the "book society". As if these today's bonfires are without flames (imposed by forgetfulness and ignorance), perhaps more efficient.

And probably one of the fields where the healing of society could first be sensed was just that - the attitude towards the book. Of all the great state and national issues, the most important one - books and literacy - has been forgotten. Today it is necessary to find a way to help the book. At one time there was talk about the so-called zero VAT for books, but the authorities did not listen to that either.

And maybe the problem is something else. Maybe the book has become "too serious" for today's time? The age of superficiality, scammers, quick sensations and cheap media hype is certainly not the age of the book. She is a natural victim in such a context.

Nobody burns books anymore, there's no need to. What a beautiful time it was when tyrants were afraid of books. What are they afraid of today? They used to be afraid of toms, but today only drones...

However, there is something that those who think they are "purifying" the world by burning books have never learned. They didn't even have a source.

Every bonfire is in vain, because, believe me Bulgakov, manuscripts, actually, not worse...