The article analyses the new book by the library scientist A.M. Mazuritsky, Doctor of pedagogical Sciences, who for many years has been studying the complex history of the genocide in relation to the culture of the peoples of our country, the policy of Nazi Germany on destruction and theft of book collections of Soviet libraries, as well as the ways of their salvation in the occupied territories. There is highlighted data on book losses in Russia obtained from state archives and publications in the press during the Great Patriotic War. The article presents A.M. Mazuritsky’s conclusions on the loss of powerful network of mass libraries in the USSR, the search for collections stolen by the Nazis and the restoration of the library system at the end of the war. In the final section of the book the author outlines the problems of restitution of book collections in the post-Soviet period.