Munich reads – from burned books

On May 10, 1933, the Nazis staged a book burning on Munich’s Königplatz, incinerating the works of innumerable authors, whom they had ostracized for racist, political or ideological reasons. The book burning was part of a nationwide campaign organized by the Nazi student movement and was carried out in Munich with the participation of members of the Technical University of Munich (former THM) and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU). The annual reading commemorates this event by reading works by the authors who were persecuted at the time at the very site where they were burned in 1933.

The reading is open to the public. A large turnout of TUM students, staff, and professors during the reading sessions sends a visible signal of collective remembrance of Nazi crimes at Königsplatz.

Reading Window TUM Senior Excellence Faculty (SEF)
Sunday, May 10, 2026 | 11:15–11:45 am

• Prof. Winfried Nerdinger | “Entlarvte Geschichte” by Werner Hegemann
• Prof. Jürgen Beckmann | “Der Sinn des Lebens und die Wissenschaft“ by Franz Müller-Lyer
• Prof. Michael Molls | “Nachts unter der steinernen Brücke“ by Leo Perutz
• Prof. Kristina Reiss | “Der 35. Mai“ by Erich Kästner
• Prof. Gerd Wegener | “Der Zwang“ by Stefan Zweig
• Prof. Wolfram Weise | Title to be announced

Reading Window TUM Center for Culture and Arts (CCA)
Sunday, Mai 10, 2026 | 12:30–12:40 pm 

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

TUM’s participation in “Munich Reads – From Burned Books” has become a fixture in the academic calendar. In 2026, six TUM Emeriti of Excellence, together with the TUM Center for Culture and Arts, will hold two reading windows on Munich’s Königsplatz, including TUM’s spokesperson on anti-Semitism. The selection of texts varies from year to year. The purpose is to commemorate the book burning of May 10, 1933.