The books that burned on August 1 at the "Ranok" logistics center in Kharkiv were brought to Frankfurt. The charred editions became the basis for the Born/Burn Alive installation, set up at Ukraine’s National Stand at the 2026 Frankfurt Book Fair. The installation was created by artist Valentyna Veremko. This is reported in an article by the "Ranok" publishing house, according to UNN.
Details
From October 7 to 11, while the Frankfurt Book Fair is open, an unusual glass display case will stand beside the booths showcasing bright new book releases. Inside it is a stack of 22 books with charred pages and traces of ash. These are not decorations or objects specially created for an art project. The books were salvaged after the Russian attack on the "Ranok" automated logistics center in Kharkiv on August 1, 2026.
That day, as a result of the strike and fire, around 8 million copies of books were destroyed, including more than 620,000 school textbooks. The Guardian also recently wrote about the scale of the destruction of Ukraine’s book infrastructure. Today, some of the books that survived the fire have ended up in Frankfurt as material evidence of the destruction of Ukraine’s book infrastructure.
"These books were meant to reach readers: schoolchildren, students, everyone who opens a page to learn something new. Instead, they passed through fire. Looking at this installation, I see how four centuries of history fit into a single glass display case. The red scale on the glass begins in 1626, when Ukrainian books were first burned. Since then, our language has been banned again and again, yet it remains alive because in every generation there have been people who printed and read it. We, the publishers, continue this work. Thank you, Valentyna Veremko, because thanks to you, the charred pages are telling their story precisely where they will be heard by the greatest number of readers," said Viktor Kruhlov, CEO of the "Ranok" publishing house.
Valentyna Veremko says that the idea for the project arose back in 2024 after the Russian strike on a Kharkiv printing house. However, it was only possible to realize it now.
One Book Tower and 400 Years of History
According to the artist’s concept, as noted by the publishing house, the charred books are arranged into a vertical tower and enclosed in a glass display case. A vertical scale with 12 dates is drawn in red on the glass. Exactly 400 years lie between the first and last dates. This scale connects the modern war crime with the centuries-long chronology of Ukraine’s linguicide and cultural genocide:
- 1626 — The Synod of the Moscow Church orders the removal of books in the old Ukrainian print tradition from Ukrainian churches;
- 1627 – By decree of Tsar Mikhail and Patriarch Filaret, the print run of K. Stavrovetskyi’s “Teaching Gospel” is burned;
- 1720 — Peter I’s decree prohibits the printing of new books in the Ukrainian language;
- 1763 — Catherine I closes Ukrainian schools;
- 1775 – The destruction of the Zaporozhian Sich, along with its printing house and library;
- 1863 — The Valuev Circular prohibits the printing of educational and religious literature in Ukrainian;
- 1876 – The Ems Ukaz prohibits the printing and import of Ukrainian books;
- 1937 – The Executed Renaissance — the physical destruction of authors along with their texts;
- 2014 — The removal of Ukrainian books from libraries in the occupied territories;
- 2022 — The destruction of libraries and book collections during the full-scale invasion;
- 2024 — A missile strike on the “Faktor-Druk” printing house in Kharkiv destroys 50,000 books;
- 2026 – The current phase of the war: the removal of Ukrainian books in the occupied territories and the targeted destruction of Ukrainian libraries, printing houses, publishing companies, and warehouses.
Why Born Alive Turns into Burn Alive
The installation’s title is built around changing just one letter. In the word Born, the letter o is crossed out, and a u appears above it. Thus, the “born” becomes the “burned.” Born Alive — “born alive.” Burn Alive — “burned alive.”
For the artist, this is a metaphor for Ukrainian culture and books that people are trying to physically destroy, but which remain evidence of what happened even after their destruction. That is why the work is based on genuine charred editions.
Will 2026 become the final date in the chronology of destruction?
The two final red lines without dates on the glass, which are visually positioned above 2026 and relate to books, are the installation’s most powerful detail. The artist deliberately left them blank; it is like one unspoken yet important thought: "A history that has not been stopped strives to repeat itself. The ending of this chronology is being decided right now."
The "Born/Burn Alive" installation speaks not only about the past. It poses a simple and uncomfortable question to visitors to the Frankfurt Book Fair: will 2026 become the final date in this chronology?
Overall, during the 78th Frankfurt Book Fair, the National Stand of Ukraine presents books from 44 Ukrainian publishers, along with scheduled discussions, presentations, and meetings with international publishers and literary agents.