Regions of Russia: Books, sent to USSR from the USA in wartime, to be displayed at exhibition in Yekaterinburg

The exhibition mounted in Yekaterinburg will unveil books, which were sent during the Great Patriotic War to the Soviet Union from the citizens of the USA. The Sverdlovsk Regional Belinsky library, which is launching an exhibition on March, 29, is currently holding about 100 such books. They represent three types of bookplates, which bear signatures of senders with indication of addresses of Americans, who sent books to Soviet people. Some books bear words: "To heroic Soviet peoples from American nation".

"Among the books, represented at the exhibition, is historical literature (including, books on history of the USA), fiction (e.g. collected plays of William Shakespeare), works on the history of diplomacy of different countries, and children’s books. Sometimes, apart from personal information, Americans made some extra notes. Thus, for instance, a woman, an emigrant from the USSR, wrote on the pages of the book with ink: "I’m Clara from Odessa". The exhibition’s organizers claim that the wish not just to offer a helping hand, but to send regards, show affinity with Soviet people touch the hearts.

The organizers explain that after books had arrived to the USSR they had been for a long time kept in the basements of major libraries of Moscow. "There was no time for their reading. At the same time for existing ideological reasons they were all undergoing prior censorship. Thus, only in 1950’s the largest Russian foreign literature library could examine these books. After that they were directed to different cities of Russia, to Yekaterinburg as well", - reported the organizers.