Exhibition: The BH during the Second World War

The Humanist Library during the Second World War, a threatened and confiscated heritage

As part of the celebrations marking 80 years since the Liberation of Sélestat

As was the case for Alsatian society as a whole at the time, the period 1939-45 was a dark period for the Humanist Library, marked by threats to Sélestat's written heritage. This heritage institution also had to face up to an ideological context in which a vast effort was being made to Nazify minds. This exhibition looks at the preservation of the Humanist Library's heritage from 1938 to the Liberation. It also deals with the instrumentalisation of Selestadian reading and the written heritage inherited from the Renaissance to celebrate the literary glories of eternal Germany. A number of works and artefacts provide context for the exhibition and give visitors an insight into the period in question. Loans from various heritage institutions in Alsace enhance the content of the exhibition.