Book Burnings: How the Nazis First Burned Books and Then People

May 7, 2023 | Book burnings - in the past and the present - stand as one of the most powerful symbols of intolerance and censorship. On May 10, 1933, only a few months after Hitler's rise to power, tens of thousands of books were burned in more than twenty German cities. Most books were works by Jewish authors. But works by political dissidents were also blacklisted. Numerous writers were forced to go into exile, while many of those who stayed in Germany were imprisoned or murdered. The Nazis replaced the Weimar Republic’s once vibrant culture with Nazi propaganda and a carefully tailored concept of what they wanted “German culture” to be.

In this episode of "Arts Unveiled", DW History Reporter Susanne Spröer sets forth to investigate why the idea to burn books took hold of universities across Germany in 1933. What role did the symbolism of fire play? Which authors were blacklisted? What happened to them afterwards? And what do young people today think about these acts of cultural destruction?

Book Burning in Germany | Holocaust Survivor | USC Shoah Foundation

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