Bebel Square
The Bebelplatz (Bebel Square) is a public square in the capital of German, Berlin. The square is situated on the south side of the Unter den Linden, a major street in the centre of the city. The Bebelplatz is surrounded by three magnificent buildings ń the Alte Bibliothek (Old Library), The Staatsoper (State Opera), and St. Hedwig's Cathedral. The Bebel Square, formerly the Opernplatz, is named after August Bebel, a 19th Century leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. Most notably, the Bebel Square hosted the infamous Nazi burning of books on May 10, 1933. In all, the ěbrownshirtsî and Nazi youth groups destroyed 20,000 books including the writings of Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx, Enrich Maria Remarque and Thomas Mann. In memory of the burning, the centre of the square features a window looking into a library with empty shelves in. There is also a line of Heine engraved in the square that reads ěDort, wo man B¸cher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen,î which translates in English as ěWhere they burn books, they will also burn humans in the end.î To memorialize the book burning, students at Humboldt University host a book sale in May of each year.
