The books of the University of Belgrade Faculty of Medicine were destroyed in the April 1941 Nazi bombing of the city. Materials for the new Library initially came from books liberated from the Germans by the National Liberation Army and donors including the United Jugoslav Fund from America, the World Health Organization, the British Council, the American Library in Belgrade, the embassy of France, and French scientists. By 1959 the Library had built a collection of 15,000 books and 850 journals.