Books Across Borders

Books Across Borders: UNESCO and the Politics of Postwar Cultural Reconstruction, 1945-1951 is a history of the emotional, ideological, informational, and technical power and meaning of books and libraries in the aftermath of World War II, examined through the cultural reconstruction activities undertaken by the Libraries Section of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The book focuses on the key actors and on-the-ground work of the Libraries Section in four central areas: empowering libraries around the world to acquire the books they wanted and needed; facilitating expanded global production of quality translations and affordable books; participating in debates over the contested fate of confiscated books and displaced libraries; and formulating notions of cultural rights as human rights. Through examples from France, Poland, and surviving Jewish Europe, this book provides new insight into the complexities and specificities of UNESCO’s role in the realm of books, libraries, and networks of information exchange during the early postwar, post-Holocaust, Cold War years.

“It is well written and tells a complex tale in a clear and careful way. ... While librarians and book historians will find this book of great interest, it also deserves a broader audience. Intrator’s study is invaluable for those who are interested in the history of global organizations such as UNESCO and its role in shaping understandings of culture after the Second World War, as well as its successes and failures on the ground.” (Amanda Laugesen, Libraries- Culture, History, and Society, Vol. 5 (1), 2021)

“Miriam Intrator’s thoroughly researched book explores pioneering efforts at international cooperation in restoring European cultural heritage in World War II’s rubble. Remarkable lessons emerge from better understanding earlier efforts by intergovernmental organizations, in this case by UNESCO, to foster what we now label ‘global governance.” (Thomas G. Weiss, Presidential Professor at The Graduate Center, CUNY, USA)

“Books Across Borders offers a new perspective on cultural internationalism in the aftermath of World War II. It reveals how UNESCO sought to ameliorate the damage to book culture in World War II, even as it modeled and enacted an international, universalist ideal for a war-torn world. This is an original and significant contribution to the history of books, information, and libraries, the development of international organizations, and the history of the postwar period.” (Kathy Peiss, Roy F. and Jeannette P. Nichols Professor of American History, University of Pennsylvania, USA)

“The history of UNESCO, an organization established by the end of World War II, has only recently begun to be written. Books Across Borders provides a vital contribution to this history through its in-depth examination of UNESCO’s soft power, transnational approach to reconstruction in the realms of books, libraries, and information in the early aftermath of the war. Viewed through the lens of this critical area of concern and initiative, Intrator identifies the origins of these reconstruction programs and, when possible, traces their short- and long-term impacts in the book and library worlds and beyond. This work sheds new and important light on the development, implementation, dissemination, and evolution of select UNESCO policies and on their failures and successes.” (Poul Duedahl, Associate Professor at the Center for History, Department of Culture and Global Studies, Aalborg University, Denmark)

“This well-researched and detailed book is the authoritative history of UNESCO’s libraries section and its activities in the period immediately following World War II. Intrator’s extensive archival research sheds light on distinct episodes in UNESCO’s work regarding transnational cultural reconstruction. UNESCO’s efforts to restore libraries that were plundered or destroyed during the war and its resolve to expand the world of books and publishing into the future are at the core of this fascinating work.” (Dana Herman, Ph.D., The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA)

 

 

Miriam Intrator is Special Collections Librarian responsible for rare books at Ohio University, USA. She received her PhD in Modern European History from the Graduate Center, City University of New York, USA, in 2013, and received the 2015 Phyllis Dain Library History Dissertation Award.