Skopje, 30 April 2025 (MIA) — Macedonian comic book history researcher Aleksandar Stevanov has released “Celsius 233: Manuscripts, Books and Comics in the April War” based on his research of the destruction of library books during the April 6, 1941, German-led invasion of Yugoslavia until the capitulation of the kingdom 11 days later.

The largest part of the libricide Stevanov writes about happened in Belgrade, at the National Library of Serbia.

“On April 6, 1941, the fire set to the library — the largest destruction of books in World War II — turned to ashes 354,000 monographs, 1,365 manuscripts, 226 early printed books, around 6,260 issues of magazines and newspapers, some 3,770 letters and 1,447 pieces of cartographic material,” Stevanov says, adding that his book focuses on those that had been written by Macedonian authors.

According to the book’s reviewer, graphic designer Vera Opashinov, Stevanov gave the title “Celsius 233” to his book because that is the ignition temperature of paper.

“Man’s proverbial best friend, outside of a dog, is a book,” Opashinov writes.

“But throughout history, sadly, this relationship has not always been based on reciprocity,” she writes, adding that some men turned out to be “the greatest enemy” of books, burning entire book collections and libraries.

Aleksandar Stevanov (b. 1984, Shtip) is a Macedonian comic book author and comic book history researcher. His works have been published in various magazines, including Strip Pressing, Sovremenost, and Strip Almanah. Together with Darko Bogdanov, he wrote the collection of comics “Ægri Somnia” (2020). The publication of Stevanov’s “Celsius 233: Manuscripts, Books and Comics in the April War” was made possible by the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as part of its annual program for funding projects of national interest.