English Translation

65 (the prosecutor punished thousands of German people for possession of National Socialist literature according to the notorious protection law, as the book lists became longer and longer, and grew into a strong bond. We all know how not only political writing, but also fashion newspapers and harmless art sheets were banned from importing, just because they brought a picture of the leader, how even medical vodhical writings finally fell victim to the Czech censor. In 1937, a list of books banned in the Czech-Slovak Republic appeared in Prague. No less than l5o0 books in German were forbidden. Among them was the book of the leader "Mein Kampf" and Rosenberg's "Myth of the 20th Century". In 1938 this index offered an almost complete list of the National Socialist writings of those days. It was especially Jewish emigrants from the Reich who became judges of German intellectual property here and were consulted by Der Benesch-Clique. As a member of the Sudeten Germans, I have taken a firm stand in this House on several occasions against this mental closure, which - as I said at the time - wanted to set up a Chi- nesian wall against the culture of the empire. Today, only a few years after the publication of the catalogue of forbidden books, the third German book exhibition in Prague has been opened since the creation of the Protectorate. Thus, this exhibition is a symbol of the greatness of our time, in which we are lucky to live, but also a symbol for the victorious weapons of the German spirit.