Through the night of 25/26 August 1914 German troops who had marched into neutral Belgium and occupied Louvain (Leuven) set fire to the University Library - a great institution & collection, one of Belgium's national cultural & intellectual treasures #Burningthebooks 1/5

The destruction of the library (and much of the old city) became an international outrage at the start of World War One, bringing accusations of barbarity. Reparations for the loss of the library would even feature as a clause in the Treaty of Versailles. #Burningthebooks 2/5

International efforts were soon begun to support the reconstruction of the Library. In the UK a librarian, Henry Guppy of the @TheJohnRylands, through a public appeal had sent 13 shipments of over 55k books for the renewed Library of Louvain by 1925. #Burningthebooks 3/5.

The rebuilt library (completed with US funding), which was opened on 4 July 1928, was destroyed AGAIN by German troops on the night of 16 May 1940. The Library had to be rebuilt once more, & stands today as a major institution in the world of knowledge. #Burningthebooks 4/5

The twice destroyed library of Louvain (Leuven) is discussed in my #Burningthebooks: A History of Knowledge Under Attack, published by @johnmurrays on 3 September and by @Harvard_Press on 17 November 5/5.
https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Burning-the-Books-by-Richard-Ovenden-author/9781529378757#:~:text=Burning%20the%20Books%20is%20a,shelling%20of%20the%20Sarajevo%20library.