The National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina marked 27 anniversary of the destruction of the City Hall

In the City Hall, the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina marked the 27th anniversary of setting ablaze this building where 80 percent of the library stock and documents of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina that testify to the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina were burned in arson.

Director of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr. Ismet Ovčina, said in his address:
Although we are not artists, with this small performance that reveals what has been “pushed under the rug”, we wanted to draw attention to our “art of survival” and start marking the day when the Library was shelled and set on fire. More than two million library units were turned into black butterflies flying over the ashes of burned books, and the sad residuals of this building testified to the barbaric destruction of one of the most beautiful and richest treasures of cultural heritage in the Balkans. 
This injustice done to this Library must not be pushed under any rug.
Dear ladies and gentlemen, Dear guests, Dear friends,
I greet you on behalf of NUBBiH and my personal name and thank you for your presence.
On the night of 25 and 26 August 1992, the City Hall building which housed the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina from January 1951 was shelled from the hill around Sarajevo.
The destruction of the NUBBiH, which happened at the end of the 20th century, can be compared to the burning of the Alexandrian Library or the book burning in the Crystal Night!
The Town Hall’s interior was almost completely destroyed in the relentless fire that followed the shelling, as the Library hit by incendiary missiles.
Thanks to the heroic efforts of firefighters, NUBBiH employees and the citizens of Sarajevo, the exterior structure of the facility was saved, which also served in later renovation.
It has been 27 years since the City Hall has become the symbol of urbicides, culturicides, bibliocides, and images of the burning National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina are in the living memory of many today. No one has ever been held responsible for the destruction of this temple of culture, education and science...
On this day, traditionally, we also visit the eternal dwellings of our colleagues who were killed during the war: Aida Buturović, Adela Leota, Ante-Slavko Kovačić, Mirko Azinović. Nobody was prosecuted for ending their lives either.
After the inferno, part of the Library's salvaged stock was firstly housed in the premises of the Bosnian Cultural Center, with librarians gathering in the library and organizing the basic functions. Already in 1993, the restoration of its regular and new functions began, in the building of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports. In 1998, NUBBiH received temporary accommodation - for a period of 30 years - in the building of the former Maršal Tito Barracks, the present-day University of Sarajevo Campus, where we are today.
The renovated City Hall building was pompously opened five years ago, yet the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina, although in the valid documents - the Land Registry Statement is the sole occupant of the City Hall building still resides in temporary and squalid accommodation. So, we should be here every day at our workplaces instead of seeking approval to visit the City Hall once a year to commemorate the plight of our Library.
International donors and sponsors, of course did not gave funds for the City Hall’s renovation as an administrative building and its clerks, i.e. a newly established public company, for wedding venues and so forth, but for the renovation of the Library building, library services and other related cultural activities. The premises of this building are still waiting for books and users.
Notwithstanding all the hardships, the unresolved legal and financial status, inadequate conditions for the placement of books and staff, the National and University Library of BiH achieves exceptional professional results in the country, region and internationally.
NUBBiH represents BiH librarianship in all meritorious international professional associations and organizations. The House of European History - House of European History in Brussels for over a year now there is an exhibit from the NUBBiH collections - saved from flames, charred book: Die Grosen Französischen Impressionisten. At the opening of this prestigious European heritage institution, our exhibit was also displayed - the famous Delail el-hajrat, interesting in its appearance - a very beautifully decorated manuscript with gold, red and blue colors – rather beautiful calligraphy work.
Margins decorated with flowers, signs at the end of the text decorated with gold, etc.
Donors - institutions and individuals (including those who have expressed their desire to remain anonymous), who understand the importance of the book and the role of the national and university libraries in society, have been heavily involved in the reconstruction and reconstruction of the destroyed part of the fund.

That is why, as done in previous years, within the commemorating of NUBBiH's suffering in the City Hall, the Library is awarding the following book donors:

1. Slobodan Vujadinović
2. Dedo Šačirović
3. Nusreta Hasanagić
4. The Vajzović Family
5. Mirjana Ahmetović
6. Mirza and Aida Pašić
7. Sanja Marendić
8. Emira Galić-Radeljaš
9. Ahmet Kasumović.