Munich Reads – From Burned Books

On May 10, 1933, National Socialists burned the works of numerous authors who had been ostracized for racial, political, or ideological reasons on Königsplatz. The book burning was part of a nationwide campaign by the National Socialist student body and was carried out in Munich with the participation of members of the then Technical Munich University of Applied Sciences THM) and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München LMU).

The annual reading commemorates this event by reading works by authors who were persecuted at the time at the very site where they were burned in 1933.

The reading is open to the public. Join us at Königsplatz to send a clear message of collective remembrance of Nazi crimes!

TUM Senior Excellence Faculty (SEF) Presentation Window
Sunday, May 10, 2026 | 11:15–11:45 a.m.

• Prof. Winfried Nerdinger | “History Unmasked” by Werner Hegemann
• Prof. Jürgen Beckmann | “The Meaning of Life and Science” by Franz Müller-Lyer
• Prof. Michael Molls | “At Night Under the Stone Bridge” by Leo Perutz
• Prof. Kristina Reiss | “The 35th of May” by Erich Kästner
• Prof. Gerd Wegener | “The Compulsion” by Stefan Zweig
• Prof. Wolfram Weise | Title to be announced

Eva Haverkamp-Rott and Alexander Reutlinger ( both from LMU) will be reading at 12:15 p.m.

Reading Window: TUM Center for Culture and Arts (CCA)
Sunday, May 10, 2026 | 12:30–12:40 p.m.

• Julia Ripke | “Hotel Amerika” by Maria Leitner
• Clara Valdés Stauber | “In Another Country” by Ernest Hemingway
• Prof. Felix Mayer | Title to be announced

TUM’s participation in “Munich Reads – From Burned Books” has become a regular feature of the academic calendar. In 2026, six TUM Emeriti of Excellence, together with the TUM Center for Culture and Arts, will once again organize two reading events on Munich’s Königsplatz, including TUM’s Anti-Semitism Officer. The selection of texts varies from year to year. The goal remains to commemorate the book burning of May 10, 1933.