Nazi Book Burnings

The burning of books in Germany during the 1930s is a historical event widely mentioned in media, schools, and books, frequently serving as a byword for state Censorship. It is often presented as a uniquely egregious act, a fundamental repression of ideas, yet few delve into the specific books targeted or the underlying reasons for their destruction.

To understand this event, one must consider the profound cultural shifts occurring in Germany during the Weimar Republic, which the National Socialists saw as an abhorrent decline.

The Cultural Landscape of the Weimar Republic

After the devastation of World War I, Germany was plunged into a state of despair and Nihilism. The old order had collapsed, leaving a void that Berlin, the capital, filled with a new and often shocking culture. It became a modern-day Babylon, an epicentre of liberal experimentation where traditional values were abandoned.

Crippling poverty led to widespread prostitution, with as many as 100,000 prostitutes operating at any one time, sometimes in highly unusual forms such as streets filled with pregnant prostitutes or mother-daughter teams.

Homosexuality was rife, with Berlin dubbed a "bugger's paradise" by some foreign observers, attracting thousands from across Europe seeking acceptance. 

Drugs like morphine, opium, and cocaine were widely available.

Transgenderism also saw the light of day, exemplified by Magnus Hirschfeld, a homosexual scientist who founded the Institute of Sexual Research. Known as the "Einstein of Sex," Hirschfeld's institute showcased bizarre sexual fetishes and collections of sex items, and was where the first full male-to-female gender reassignment surgery was performed. All moral laws of the past seemed to have vanished, giving way to rampant experimentation with gender and sexuality.

It is important to note that many, if not most, of the leading figures in this new liberal culture and the liberal government at large were Jewish. Many JEWS openly and proudly spoke of this period. For those who view this liberal society as a progressive ideal, this era represents a significant step forward; for others, it marked a period of profound decay. The National Socialists unequivocally found it abhorrent, viewing this period as a grave mistake where Germany had veered down the wrong path.

The Student-Led Cleansing by Fire

The book burnings did not originate from a central government decree but began spontaneously, initiated by the German Student Union. They called for a "cleansing by fire" of books deemed to go against the "German Spirit," believing these works were leading the people astray. To articulate their motives, the Union published the 12 Theses, echoing the style of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses:

• Language and literature must be pure expressions of the German people's tradition.
• The current chasm between literature and German tradition is a disgrace.
• It is the German people's responsibility to preserve their language faithfully, as the most dangerous enemy is the Jew and those who are his slaves.
• A Jew can only think Jewish; if he writes in German, he is lying. A German who writes German but thinks un-German is a traitor.
• The desire to eradicate lies, denounce treason, and establish institutions of discipline and political education is paramount.
• Jews are to be regarded as alien, and their writings, if in German, must be identified as translations; strong actions against the abuse of the German script are demanded.
• The "un-German spirit" is to be eradicated from public libraries.
• German students must desire and be capable of independent knowledge, decisions, and maintaining the purity of the German language.
• Students must overcome Jewish intellectualism and the resulting liberal decay in the German Spirit.
• Students and professors must be selected based on their reliability and commitment to the German Spirit.
• German universities must be strongholds of the German people's tradition and battlegrounds for the power of the German mind.

Nearly a month after these theses were published, the burnings commenced. The first major event took place at the very epicentre of Weimar culture: Magnus Hirschfeld's Institute of Sexual Research, where 20,000 books were torched. These spontaneous burnings quickly escalated into a widespread movement. Joseph Goebbels summarised the motives behind the burnings, stating, "Yes to decency and morality in family and state. Here the intellectual foundation of the November Republic is sinking to the ground, but from this wreckage the phoenix of a new spirit will triumphantly rise."

The Targets of the Flames

The books consigned to the flames were primarily those deemed to undermine the "German Spirit" or to be products of the "liberal decay" that the Nazis so despised. The motives were clear: to stamp out what was perceived as a hijack of German culture by Jews, liberals, and defeatists, and to restore family and moral values that had given way to rampant Individualism and sexual deviancy.

Among the specific genres and authors targeted were:

• Communist Works: Communism was the sworn enemy of National Socialism, and their ideological battles were often violent. Works by Karl Marx, such as Das Kapital, along with writings by Lenin and Trotsky, were among the first to be destroyed and banned. Works by German communists like Rosa Luxemburg were also outlawed.
• Pacifist Works: While National Socialism did not inherently condemn war, it viewed pacifism as a debilitating disease that weakened the nation. Erich Maria Remarque's famous novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, was a prominent target, later banned for its anti-war message.
• Works on Transgenderism and Homosexuality: Given that the first major burning took place at Hirschfeld's Institute of Sexual Research, the targeting of works on transgenderism was hardly surprising. Hirschfeld himself, a Jewish homosexual scientist who explored gender reassignment, was considered the perfect embodiment of everything the National Socialists rejected. His works, including The Objective Diagnosis of Homosexuality, Transvestites: The Erotic Drive to Cross-Dress, and The Sexual History of the World War, were gutted and burned. Homosexuality was seen as a moral failing that needed to be utterly stamped out of society and the party; existing laws against it, which had previously been unenforced, were now rigorously applied.
• Pornography and "Degenerate" Works: Any material deemed pornographic or otherwise "degenerate" in its moral content was condemned to the flames and banned, reflecting a widespread opposition to such material.
• Jewish Books: The burning of Jewish books was a culmination of the other categories. For complex historical reasons, Jews were seen as massively overrepresented in art, literature, politics, and liberal culture, often at the spearhead of movements challenging the European status quo. The National Socialists believed Jews had a hand in all their problems—cultural, political, and financial—making Jewish authors and their works an easy target.

A Broader Perspective on Censorship

To claim that book burning and banning are inherently wrong would be both simplistic and hypocritical for many modern societies. Most Western nations maintain banned lists, and possessing certain books can lead to surveillance. Media is censored, and the types of books that can be published are controlled. For instance, a pro-Nazi history book would be thwarted at every step in contemporary publishing, with its author's life potentially destroyed, and the book itself made difficult and expensive to obtain, bypassing even commercial distribution channels.

History demonstrates that very few civilisations have ever been censorship-free, and National Socialism was no exception. Historical context is crucial for understanding such events, regardless of one's political stance. The continuous censorship in various forms, whether by governments or internet platforms, suggests that the control of information remains a constant across time, raising questions about whether contemporary societal forces might lead to similar forms of suppression, albeit through different means.