Sweden opens the world's first censored book library

    Sweden opens the world's first censored book library

    Located in Malmö, the Dawit Isaak Library contains books by writers who, due to their profession or ideas, were silenced, oppressed or forced into exile

    He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

    Located in Malmö, the Dawit Isaak Library contains books by writers who, due to their profession or ideas, were silenced, oppressed or forced into exile. Leo Lionni's Little Blue and Little Yellow, a classic of childhood literature, is also on the shelves.





    The new Dawitt Isaak library, which specializes in censored books from around the world, opened in September in Malmö, southern Sweden and currently contains around 1600 works. The name is a tribute to journalist and writer Dawit Isaak, who has been detained without trial in Eritrea since 2001 for publishing criticisms of the regime.

    On the shelves of the library are copies of ancient and contemporary works that are or have been censored or burned in different countries, written by authors who have been silenced, threatened, imprisoned or forced into exile because of their ideas. The collection also includes banned music and plays and much literature on freedom of expression, censorship and democracy.

    “We decided to create the Dawitt Isaak Library after realizing that there was no public library that could offer literature that is or has been banned or censored. It is important that libraries are spaces where people can form their own opinions. And for that, people need facts. Censoring books and ideas does not strengthen democracy, on the contrary, ”said Emelie Wieslander, director of the library.

    Each book in the library contains information on why the book was censored, when and where. Some of the works are famous for the fact that their authors have been threatened or persecuted, such as "The Satanic Verses", by the Anglo-Indian Salman Rushdie. The play was considered offensive by Islamic leaders and in 1989 the writer was sentenced to death by then Iranian religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini.

    In the library there are also censored children's books, including Leo Lionni's masterpiece "Little blue and little yellow", banned in 2015 by the center-right mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro who called it "gender" and accused of dealing with topics which do not have to be addressed in a school, but only in the family. Munro Leaf's “The story of the bull Fernandino” was also banned by the Franco regime in Spain because it was considered “pacifist propaganda”, while in Adolf Hitler's Germany all copies of the work were burned.



    Posted by Malmö Stadsarkiv on Tuesday, September 15, 2020

    Not even the adventures of the young wizard Harry Potter, by British writer JK Rowling, escaped censorship: the books were banned in some states of the United States and in private schools in the United Arab Emirates on the grounds of promoting witchcraft and the occult. Some schools in England, Canada and New Zealand have also tried to ban these books.

    "The Dawit Isaak library is unique in its kind and is a way for us to concretely contribute to the goals set nationally and internationally in the area of ​​culture and freedom of expression," says Pernilla Conde-Hellman, cultural director of the City of Malmö.

    Censored books to recommend?

    In order to expand its initial collection of 1.600 works, the Dawit Isaak Library is constantly looking for works, authors, musicians and artists in general that have been banned or have caused controversy in different regions of the world. If you have any suggestions, please submit them here, the library enthusiastically accepts them.

    Dawit Isaak, symbol of the struggle for freedom of the press

    Swedish-Eritrean journalist and writer Dawit Isaak was arrested during the heavy press release in 2001, and has been in prison without trial in his native Eritrea for nearly 20 years.

    His image is an international symbol of the struggle for freedom of the press and freedom of expression. Amnesty International considers Dawit Isaak a prisoner of conscience, arbitrarily detained in accordance with his political positions and therefore supports his immediate and unconditional release.

    Inside the new library of censored books there is an empty chair, set there waiting for the day when Dawit Isaak is released from prison in Eritrea, brought back to Sweden and can finally occupy it.



    Today is another birthday in prison for the Swedish journalist Dawit Isaak who turns 56 years old. Since 2001 he has been sitting…

    Posted by Malmö Stadsarkiv on Tuesday, October 27, 2020

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