The Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar, Germany is one of the world's great cultural treasures. Founded in 1691, it holds over a million books and significant rare book and manuscript collections, including medieval manuscripts, Martin Luther's Bible, the world's largest collection of Goethe's Faust, and other treasures. It has been named a UNESCO world heritage site.

On September 2, 2004 the library suffered a terrible fire, and over 50,000 irreplaceable books were lost. Another 62,000 books were damaged by smoke and water. German Culture Minister Christina Weiss has said, "The literary memory of Germany has suffered severe damage. A piece of the world's cultural heritage has been lost forever." More information is available at http://www.anna-amalia-bibliothek.de/

At this difficult time it is important for Americans and people of all countries to show their solidarity with the library. An "American Friends of the Anna Amalia Library" has been formed for this purpose. Please be as generous as you can. The complete sum of your gift, which can be sent to the following address, will be forwarded to the Library to for the conservation of damaged books and manuscripts.

American Friends of the Anna Amalia Library
C/o Ronald D. Patkus
Vassar College Box 20
124 Raymond Avenue
Poughkeepsie, NY 12604

If you have any questions, please feel free to send email to patkus@vassar.edu.

Thank you very much for your support!

This page updated March 7, 2005