My God what are they thinking !!!!!1 -----Original Message----- From: Klaus Graf <[email protected]> To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Date: Wednesday, September 08, 1999 1:06 PM Subject: Donaueschingen >Whoever is interested to take part of the petition mentioned below >which is addressed to the government of the state Baden Wuerttemberg >will be cordialy invited to send me an informal email >[email protected] >indicating your name, your professional position respectively the >institution. > >Thank you! >Dr. Klaus Graf, University of Freiburg im Breisgau >Further informations (in German): >http://www.uni-koblenz.de/~graf/#kulturgut > >*** > >Dear Esteemed Mr. Minister-President, > >As a result of the planed auctioning of the Fuerstenberg Hofbibliothek >of Donaueschingen, the culture of the land of Baden-Wuerttemberg has >suffered serious damage. The publications in the media have made the >extent of this damage quite clear. Even if the entire library, as it >had >developed over the centuries, can no longer be saved in its entirety, it >still might be possible to rescue individual parts of that library. >Already on the 20th of October the first auction is to take place. > >The undersigned ask that the government of Baden-Wuerttemberg provide >both means and personnel which can be employed at the anticipated sales >and auctions. What is being asked for here is not the taking on of >additional governmental debt which future generations would then have to >repay, but rather the upholding of a part of their own cultural >heritage. >To do nothing at all would be the worst possible step in this matter. > >Since only parts of the library can be preserved in this land, in the >long run, it would seem advisable to prepare a digitalized inventory >list >of the individual library sections. For that purpose a research project >could be established, and the first steps toward that goal can already >be >made now, before the precious volumes disappear on the shelves of >private >collectors. We ask you and the government of this land to provide >actual >and effective support. >