Book Burning Memorial at Bebelplatz
Book Burning Memorial at Bebelplatz
4
Tours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
What is Travelers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Plan your visit
The area
Address
Neighborhood: Mitte (Borough)
How to get there
- Französische Straße • 5 min walk
- Hausvogteiplatz • 5 min walk
Reach out directly
Best nearby
Restaurants
5,770 within 3 miles
Attractions
1,496 within 6 miles
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
140 reviews
Excellent
45
Very good
56
Average
29
Poor
7
Terrible
3
Clogs
Poland3,030 contributions
Jun 2020 • Solo
Poignant memorial of book burnings organized in 1933 by the Nazis, consisting of a plaque set into the ground and a window showing a room with empty book cases. I visited the place during the day and the window remained dark to me. Apparently the idea is to visit after sunset.
Written July 7, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
macedonboy
Glasgow, UK186,766 contributions
Sep 2019
This monument stands in memory of the infamous Nazi book burning ceremonies held all over Germany in the evening of 10 May 1933.
The memorial consists of an underground bookcases, viewable from above a glass window set into the cobbles of Bebelplatz. The shelfs of the bookcases are empty, but capable of storying the 20,000 books said to have been burnt that night.
Good to remember this awful event, but the memorial is a bit rubbish to be honest, but +1 for the sentiments.
The memorial consists of an underground bookcases, viewable from above a glass window set into the cobbles of Bebelplatz. The shelfs of the bookcases are empty, but capable of storying the 20,000 books said to have been burnt that night.
Good to remember this awful event, but the memorial is a bit rubbish to be honest, but +1 for the sentiments.
Written September 26, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
olibot
Bishop Auckland, UK1,249 contributions
Jul 2020 • Couples
The book biting memorial is flanked on all sides by a selection of some of the finest buildings in Berlin. The memorial itself is a sharp reminder to us all of the importance of books.
Written July 30, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mariana Aguiar
Sao Paulo, SP1,079 contributions
Aug 2016 • Solo
Such a different monument! It's a memory of what happened when the nezis burned the books of the university. It's an undergound monument, sad and solemn at the same time.
Written November 27, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ajd357
Cardiff, UK356 contributions
Nov 2016 • Couples
One of the main images from the rise of National socialism was the burning of the books and effectively the removal of the academic classes from 1933.
The memorial is a small glass plate in the ground allowing the viewer to see empty book shelves. In front of two university buildings including where Einstein had been working it was even more moving when at night looking up into the building through the windows to view row of books in Libraries.
What happened all those years ago did not achieve what the Nazi's had wanted. Today book sales take place outside the university buildings. A moving reminder.
The memorial is a small glass plate in the ground allowing the viewer to see empty book shelves. In front of two university buildings including where Einstein had been working it was even more moving when at night looking up into the building through the windows to view row of books in Libraries.
What happened all those years ago did not achieve what the Nazi's had wanted. Today book sales take place outside the university buildings. A moving reminder.
Written November 22, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
HINA W
Islamabad, Pakistan7,348 contributions
Aug 2015 • Family
This area of Bebelplatz used to a lush green area filled with plantation and shrubbery, but it is completely paved now. There is only one glass window in the whole square that looks down on a room filled with empty shelves. This is the book burning memorial. It is the brainchild of the Israeli artist Micha Ullman. It is called "Library" and it was built in 1995. It was built to remind us of the tragic book burning bonfire that was held by the Nazis here on May 10, 1933. Joseph Geobbels, the Nazi Minister for propaganda, collected such books from all over Germany, that conflicted with the Nazi beliefs and set them on fire in this square. Some of the authors whose works were burnt were Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, Heinrich and Klaus Mann, Bertha von Suttner,Rosa Luxemburg, August Bebel, and Stefan Zweig.This event led to the expulsion of Jews from the academic circles and later on from the whole German Society . As the plaque next to the memorial states,
That was only a prelude, there where they burn books, they burn in the end people. Heinrich Heine 1820
Students of the Humboldt University hold a book sale here every year on the anniversary of this tragic event.
That was only a prelude, there where they burn books, they burn in the end people. Heinrich Heine 1820
Students of the Humboldt University hold a book sale here every year on the anniversary of this tragic event.
Written October 5, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rob H
Toronto, Canada318 contributions
Nov 2019
Very well done, simple memorial. Set in the university courtyard it is easy to miss but so evocative of the Nazi mantra when seen. Empty bookcases speak volumes of this horrendous attack on free thought and literature. Quite moving.
Written November 20, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kathryn E
Sheffield, UK403 contributions
Oct 2019
This memorial is very stark, but signifies exactly what the book burning did, depriving people of the opportunity of reading books not approved by the state. I found it very moving looking down on all those empty shelves. Worth a visit.
Written October 25, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
El Pedro
Bath, UK220 contributions
Aug 2019
Wanted to visit this and glad I did, surrounded by lovely buildings, only problem is the "glass top", its obviously seen better days and makes it difficult to look inside, could do with a cleaner top but doesn't detract from what it represents.
Written August 6, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Grover R
Pensacola, FL22,266 contributions
Jun 2019 • Family
Bebelplatz is the place of the iconic book burning associated with the Nazis. It actually happen here and this is an amazing way to show the impact, a volume of empty shelves to represent knowledge lost. Let me say if you go to the middle of the square, you can not miss it. However, during the day, it can be incredibly hard to see. Better to see at twilight or in the evening as shown is the picture. When in Berlin, it is one of the things you have to see just to acknowledge the folly of book burning.
Written July 9, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing