The 29th anniversary of the destruction of the National and University Library of BiH was marked in the City Hall

On 25 August 2021, the National and University Library, with a special program and exhibition, marked the 29th anniversary of the shelling of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the City Hall.

The town hall, a former symbol of the meeting of different cultures and traditions, a place of gathering and learning of students, was renovated and pompously opened seven years ago. To date, not a single book from the Library has been returned to its pre-war home - the City Hall, where it belongs.

The Anniversary was marked in the City Hall.

As the director of the Library, dr. Ismet Ovčina, that night this institution was evicted from its decades-old home.

“Let me remind you, the catalog and catalog leaflets were burning in it, not empty offices. Reading rooms and books were burning in them, not ceremonial salons. Warehouses were burning and newspapers and books in them, not empty warehouses. On the night of August 25-26, 1992, the library was turned into a torch, over which charred fragments of pages of books, newspapers, magazines, anthologies, scientific and professional literature, atlases and maps fluttered for days. The burning was carefully preserved and collected for decades and given for use to those for whom this library was founded” Ovčina said at the beginning of his speech.

He adds that dramatic footage of the City Hall rescue attempt has toured the world.

“Dramatic footage of the Library in flames and people trying to save what to save the day has traveled the world, and the act of burning has met with outrage and condemnation. That night, the Library was evicted from its decades-old home, left without 2/3 of its materials, without equipment, and above all without a roof over its head. She became a refugee in her hometown. However, culture won, the Library survived” added Ovčina.

He notes that to date, not a single book from the Library has been returned to the City Hall.

"Today we are here to remember the tragically killed colleagues, but also to mark the day when the crime was committed, but also to remind that in the valid land registry documents the Library is still the only legal entity registered as a user of the City Hall," he concluded.

Vice President of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Prof. Dr. Lidija Lincender-Cvijetić reminded that many believe that due to the "digital era" libraries will come to an end.

“I believe that libraries have an increasingly bright future by turning information into knowledge. Libraries still have their place in the world, and so does this one. The dynamic center of knowledge is the library and I wish everyone a successful future for the benefit of all of us", she said.

Dušan Toholj, the deputy director of the library at the time of the burning of the City Hall, presented his testimony.

“I am the one who saved everything destroyed with my son and his friend and the team that worked on the rescue that could have been saved with bare hands. There was no water or food, and working hours from morning to night. We managed to ensure that no books were damaged in the basement. The library is my life, everything was there, but there is no more library, it will not be the way we were ", said Toholj.

The brave Kemal Cacan also addressed the Fire Brigade of the Sarajevo Canton, who was extinguishing the City Hall that night.

On the occasion of the celebration, NUBBiH received a large number of telegrams, including a telegram from the High Representative of the International Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt, Vice President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Melika Mahmutbegović, Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education and Science, M.Sc. Aldan Kajtaz, as well as many others.