Eine Bücherverbrennung mitten in Dortmund

In the organizer's words:

Reading from burnt books

On May 30, 1933, mountains of books were burned on Hansaplatz. Under the leadership of the Nazi Teachers' Association and the SA, unpopular printed works from bookshops and public libraries, but for the most part from the Volkshaus on 1. Kampstraße, as well as the Social Democratic and Communist party headquarters, were thrown onto the pyre at around 9 pm - one of the most important demonstrations of the new rulers in this city. Four Dortmund authors will each introduce a persecuted author at the site of the event.

• Thorsten Trelenberg is the godfather of Curt Bloch from Dortmund, who wrote poems against the Nazis in hiding in the Netherlands after fleeing Germany and published them in his underground magazine.
• Cornelia Franken introduces Annette Kolb. The Pazifistin tried for a long time to mediate between the Germans and the French, was considered a "traitor to the fatherland" in both countries and floated to Switzerland before the Nazis.
• Thomas Kade focuses on Gina Kaus and her work. The successful playwright and novelist was one of the "burned authors" in 1933 and emigrated to the USA with her family in 1938.
• Finally, Heike Wulf takes over a godparenthood for Hilde Domin. Her politically committed, dialogical poetry unfolds its effect through its particular linguistic simplicity. Born Hilde Löwenstein, she floated via Italy to Great Britain and then via Canada to Santo Domingo in 1940.

An event as part of the exhibition "Verbrannte Orte - Bücherverbrennung 1933 in Deutschland" from May 8 to June 3, 2026 at the VHS Dortmund. In cooperation with: Arbeitsstelle Zukunft braucht Erinnerung - Jugendring Dortmund, Mahn- und Gedenkstätte Steinwache, Max-Planck-Gymnasium Dortmund, Verbrannte Orte e.V., Volkshochschule Dortmund.