The Bebelplatz

“That was only a prelude, there where they burn books, they burn in the end people.” - Heinrich Heine, 1820.

These are the sobering words that grace the bronze plaque you will find at your feet in the center of Bebelplatz Square. Nearby, a pane of thick glass replacing the pavement acts as a window into a subterranean room. In this room is bookshelf after bookshelf—enough shelf space to store 20,000 tomes, every single one hauntingly empty. Israeli artist Micha Ullman created the installation, and called it “Library.”