The books of the Mapu library in Kaunas, the largest and oldest Jewish library in Lithuania, named after the Jewish novelist Abraham Mapu, were burned in a huge bonfire ordered by Heinrich Lohse, the new Nazi commissar for Lithuania, it is reported here today.
The burning of the Jewish volumes took place in front of the library in the presence of high German officials. A German military band played while the books were being burned and uniformed Nazis danced around the fire.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.