On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Nazi book burnings, the presentation “bücher 1933” at Hauser & Wirth Publishers bookstore in Zurich looks at how Emil and Emmie Oprecht used publishing as a tool to inform the public about fascism and provide a counter-narrative to Hitler’s and Mussolini’s ideas about culture. Emil and Emmie Oprecht were among the most important supporters of writers who were opposed to the Nazi regime. In 1925, they founded a publishing house and bookshop at Rämistrasse 5, the current location of Hauser & Wirth Publishers.

In the exhibition “bücher 1933” numerous books and magazines published by the Oprechts will be on view, as well as photographs from the wide-ranging series ‘Die Bücher’ (2021) by German artist Annette Kelm, which portray the covers of books that were blacklisted by the Nazi regime in Germany. In texts accompanying the exhibition, historian Ute Kröger explains the significance of the works on view as well as the context of their creation and the experiences of their emigré authors.

In this video, Michaela Unterdörfer (Executive Director, Hauser & Wirth Publishers) guides us through the exhibition, which runs until May 27, 2023.

bücher 1933 / Hauser & Wirth Publishers (xl). Introduction by Michaela Unterdörfer (Executive Director, Hauser & Wirth Publishers). Zürich (Switzerland), April 19, 2023.