Man shocked to see Holocaust books in fiction zone at Andover library

Sebastian, who does not want his last name revealed, said his family was ‘very upset’ when they saw the books in the wrong section at the Andover library in the Chantry Centre.

The 43-year-old said he was also let down by the library staff who he says refused to move the books from the section and just removed the ‘fiction’ label on top of the shelf.

Sebastian said the books continue to be in the ‘fiction’ zone in the library.

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“We go to the library all the time. Last Saturday we were shopping and then wanted to go to the library for some quiet time and to read some books,” he said.

“Inside we saw a row of different displays and the big one was the Holocaust Memorial. And they were kept in the fiction section. My wife was upset and I was quite cross because my grandfather was the only one out of six siblings who survived the Holocaust.

“I remember when I was young in the 1980s, I was sitting on his lap and he had numbers tattooed on his arm. He is 89 now, but he still lives in memories of the Holocaust and losing all his siblings.

“So it was quite upsetting to see the books in the fiction section.”

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Sebastian said he spoke to a woman in the library, but he was let down by her response.

“I told her quietly that someone with Jewish heritage would find it quite upsetting. I asked her to be more sensitive and move it from that shelf.

“She asked me what do I mean. So I said again that Holocaust is no joking matter and it isn’t fiction. She looked at me, kind of rolled her eyes, and said they did it because most people go to the fiction section. I said this is the wrong story completely.

A photo shared by Sebastian showing Holocaust-related books kept in the fiction section at Andover library (Image: Newsquest)

“And then she got up and just took the label off the top. But even now it's in the fiction section. The only difference is the blue strip saying fiction has been removed from this shelf. But these books still remain in the fiction section with fairy tales and other made-up stories on either side.

“It would have been alright if she had said ‘yeah, I'm really sorry, this was a simple oversight’ and moved the books.”

Sebastian said a small thing like this is not appropriate because Holocaust deniers use it on social media.

He added that the council and the library were supposed to “know better than this”.

A spokesperson for Hampshire County Council, which runs the library, said: “Andover Library marked this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day with a collection of non-fiction and fiction books that were displayed in a prominent area of the library.

"This meant non-fiction books were moved to shelving that is frequently used for both non-fiction and fiction displays. The positioning of the collection was well-intentioned to draw attention to this important commemorative event, however, we are sorry that the shelf label on this occasion was not updated accordingly.

"Our local team did act promptly to rectify the error when it was brought to their attention by a member of the public. We will ensure that this customer’s comments are taken into account for future displays.”