List of libraries damaged during World War II

This is a list of libraries damaged during World War II.

Belgium

 * Library of the University of Louvain (900,000 volumes, 800 manuscripts, all incunabula, and 200 prints of old masters lost; 300,000 books, manuscripts and incunabula were destroyed in World War I too)
 * Public Library of Tournay (destroyed)

China

 * National Library of China
 * Nanjing Library

Czechoslovakia

 * Prague National and University Library (25,000 lost books, mostly art books)
 * Library of the Faculty of Natural Sciences (dispersed and destroyed, including the card catalogue)
 * Ancient library of Jan Hodejovsky (seven codices)

Total losses of books, manuscripts and incunabula estimated at 2,000,000 volumes.

Germany

 * Library of the Technical University of Aachen (50,000 volumes lost, including journals, doctoral dissertations and illustrated works)
 * National Library of Germany (2 million volumes lost)
 * Library of Berlin University (20,000 volumes lost)
 * Municipal Library of Berlin (damaged)
 * Library of the Reichstag (almost utterly destroyed)
 * Library of the German Army (damaged)
 * Library of University of Bonn (a quarter of volumes lost)
 * Library of Bremen (150,000 volumes lost)
 * The Hessische Landesbibliothek (760,000 volumes lost, including 2,217 incunabula and 4,500 manuscripts)
 * Municipal and State Library of Dortmund (250,000 volumes lost)
 * Sächsische Landesbibliothek (300,000 volumes lost)
 * Municipal Library of Dresden (200,000 volumes lost)
 * Library of the Verein für Erdkunde (12,000 volumes lost)
 * Municipal Library of Essen (130,000 volumes lost)
 * Municipal and University Library of Frankfurt (550,000 volumes, 440,000 doctoral dissertations and 750,000 patents lost)
 * University Library of Giessen (90% volumes lost)
 * University Library of Greifswald (17,000 volumes and 1,900 manuscripts lost)
 * University and State Library of Hamburg (600,000 volumes lost)
 * Commercial Library of Hamburg (174,000 volumes lost)
 * Municipal Library of Hannover (125,000 volumes lost)

About a third of books in German libraries were lost.

Italy

 * Public Library of Milan (200,000 volumes lost)
 * University Library of Naples (200,000 volumes lost)
 * Library of Parma (damaged)
 * National Library of Turin (heavily damaged)

About 2 million printed works and 39,000 manuscripts lost.

Netherlands

 * Provincial Library of Zeeland (160,000 volumes lost)

Poland
Most of Polish libraries were damaged and suffered losses by German occupation:


 * Raczynski Library (destroyed)
 * Science Society Library (destroyed)
 * Cathedral Library in Poznan (burned)
 * National Library in Warsaw (700,000 volumes lost)
 * Central Military Library (damaged, it held 350,000 books)
 * Rapperswil Library (damaged, it held 60,000 volumes)
 * Krasinski Library (damaged)
 * Warsaw Public Library (partially burned, 300,000 volumes lost and 100,000 volumes stolen)
 * Great Talmudic Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary in Lublin (burned, 24,000 volumes moved to Germany and also suffered losses in air raids there)

Around 15 millon volumes were lost of a total 22,5 million volumes available.