In 1914, during World War I, Leuven was looted by German troops. They set fire to a large part of the city, effectively destroying about half of it. The library was lost, as well as about 300,000 books, about 1000 incunabula; and a huge collection of manuscripts, such as the Easter Island tablet bearing Rongorongo text E or the oldest Czech Bible In the early stages of the war, Allied propaganda capitalized on the German destruction as a reflection on German Kultur.
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posted 2434 days ago