The russian occupiers throwing away books in Ukrainian from the library of Pryazovsk University in Mariupol, preparing them for destruction. Source is Mariupol's City Council

[u/GreenEyeOfADemon]

[u/Acc87]

This my dear friends is a hallmark of genocide.

[u/GreenEyeOfADemon]

The city council draws parallels with the actions of the Nazis. During the occupation of Mariupol by the Germans during the Second World War, they also destroyed cultural and intellectual property in order to instil their ideology. "History repeats itself, but now the invaders are Russians," the mayor's office emphasises. The occupiers are actively destroying Ukrainian culture, its artistic and literary heritage. Instead, they import their "ideologically correct books".

This event from 2023 went unnoticed.

[u/NonStickyAdhesive]

Hmm, where have I seen this before?

[u/BlueKolibri23 → u/NonStickyAdhesive]

Let’s be honest. Russian does not have a good education at all. Limited access to information and history.only propaganda.

This makes it not better.

But if I look at my kids. If I am or in school not educating them with our German history, they will never know.

[u/Buerostuhl_42]

They accuse them of being Nazis and then pull this move. How ironic.

[u/Gentleman_Nosferatu]

Reminds me of something.

[u/GreenEyeOfADemon → u/Gentleman_Nosferatu]

The soviet onion.

[u/Gentleman_Nosferatu → u/GreenEyeOfADemon]

Reminds me of nazi Germany.

[u/GreenEyeOfADemon → u/Gentleman_Nosferatu]

Sure, since they were best buddies for a very long time! It is uncertain though who taught who.

[u/EuleMitKeule_tass → u/Gentleman_Nosferatu]

Nazis love them bookburnings.

[u/jesterboyd]

If you want to support and help us popularize Ukrainian literature - apply to join our Revolutionary Ukrainian Literature Bookclub where we will be reading/discussing books of Ukrainian authors translated to English and also providing opportunities for people to learn Ukrainian with mentors from a friendly project.

[u/The_Blahblahblah]

Typical. What could the invaders possibly need books for

[u/Wojewodaruskyj]

See this, people who love to cry about moscowites repairing the city?

[u/GreenEyeOfADemon → u/Wojewodaruskyj]

Almost no news are coming out from the occupied territories, all silenced. This is frightening, at least to me.

[u/Wojewodaruskyj → u/GreenEyeOfADemon]

Yes.

[u/GreenEyeOfADemon → u/Wojewodaruskyj]

I imagine the occupied territories as an open dystopian prison, with enormous banners like those we see in the WW2 movies, people afraid to talk loud in open spaces, children in uniform training to go to war, no food, no water, no heating: just russia.

[u/Wojewodaruskyj → u/GreenEyeOfADemon]

According to what people from the occupied lands say, it is a prison.

[u/U-V_catastrophe]

And then entitled westerners gonna ask "were are your poets and writers?" while discussing the greatness of tolstoyevsky and repeating the same bullshit mantra "literature is apolitical".

[u/GreenEyeOfADemon → u/U-V_catastrophe]

repeating the same bullshit mantra "literature is apolitical".

Man, I am so tired of those defending what is humanly impossible to be defended. The mental gymnastic some do is worthy of a Olympic golden medal.

[u/zigs → u/U-V_catastrophe]

To be fair, most of us are just fucking stupid. If and when it happens, tell us exactly where all that went.

[u/zigs]

Does this still work? What, with the internet and all

[u/GreenEyeOfADemon → u/zigs]

Who knows?

Almost anything is coming out from the occupied territories: they are living in an open prison, here, in Europe. No Western journalists are allowed, only those who are vetted by the Kremlin.

[u/zigs → u/GreenEyeOfADemon]

Yeah, those seem more efficient.

I just mean that book burning seems stupid considering that most (all?) information has been digitalized and shared across the globe. Can't really erase history anymore.

But then, that presumes that rational minds were involved in the book burning decision.

[u/GreenEyeOfADemon → u/zigs]

I think it is more symbolic, like thousands of slaps in the face to the Ukrainians., showing them that they cannot speak in Ukrainian.

[u/zigs → u/GreenEyeOfADemon]

Yeah, that's fair. It's an asshole move for sure.

[u/Sky-is-here]

If Ukraine survived I hope we can start a project to recover all the culture that's been lost, economical incentives to publish things in Ukrainian, talk Ukrainian and mass produce books for all libraries.

[u/ResQ_]

This picture could be from 1933-1945 Nazi Germany as well and nobody would see the difference.

[u/GarlicThread]

Make this black and white and I would 100% believe this was taken during WW2, with the implications that follow.

[u/RARE_ARMS_REVIVED]

Sounds familiar. Very 1930s of them.

[u/GreenEyeOfADemon → u/RARE_ARMS_REVIVED]

Yep pure soviet onion over and over.

[u/Atvishees]

Where they burn books, they shall soon burn people.