On May 10, 1933, a massive crowd of 40,000 people gathered in Berlin’s Opera Square. They were there to hear Joseph Goebbels, a key advisor to Adolf Hitler and Germany’s Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. This event was significant because it showcased the support of German universities for the Nazi regime. Students, influenced by the National Socialist German Students’ Union, organized a public burning of books that were blacklisted by the state.
These book burnings were not spontaneous acts of rebellion but rather carefully orchestrated events. Libraries across Germany were raided, and books by Jewish authors like Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein, as well as Marxist and communist texts, were targeted. Even works by foreign authors such as Ernest Hemingway and Helen Keller were not spared.
Institutions like Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institute of Sexology suffered greatly. The Institute, which supported LGBTQ+ communities, was attacked, and its valuable research was destroyed. This setback delayed progress in gender studies for decades. During the raid, it is believed that Dora Richter, the first person documented to undergo gender reassignment surgery, was killed.
The book burning in Berlin is thought to have started at Friedrich Wilhelm University, where Professor Alfred Baeumler encouraged students to destroy “un-German” books. That night, students carried thousands of books to the square, where they were burned to the sound of SS bands playing German folk music. Goebbels delivered his infamous “Fire Speech,” declaring the end of Jewish intellectualism and the revival of the German soul.
The book burnings were not isolated events. Similar demonstrations occurred at universities across Germany. These acts of censorship were among the most dramatic and served as a chilling reminder of the power of propaganda.
Even before Hitler became Chancellor in 1933, the Nazis were working to control and manipulate the population. Berlin in the 1920s was a vibrant city, known for its arts and LGBTQ+ culture. However, this progressiveness faced backlash from conservative segments of society.
In the late 1920s, the National Socialist Society for German Culture, later known as the Militant League for German Culture (KfdK), was formed. Although not initially an official Nazi organization, it aimed to impose National Socialist ideals on German culture. The KfdK criticized modernist art and targeted individuals and institutions they deemed enemies.
Wilhelm Frick, a prominent Nazi Party member, played a significant role in censorship. As Minister of the Interior and Education of Thuringia, he banned books, symphonies, and movies that opposed National Socialism. When the Nazis rose to power in 1933, Frick became Minister for the Interior of Nazi Germany and helped implement the Nuremberg Laws and eugenics policies.
To consolidate power, the Nazi Party established the Ministry for Propaganda and Public Enlightenment, led by Goebbels. This allowed the Nazis to control all aspects of German media and culture, a process known as “Nazification.”
In September 1933, Goebbels created the Reich Chamber of Culture, which oversaw various art and media fields. Membership in these chambers was mandatory for anyone wishing to work in these areas, allowing the ministry to control artistic and journalistic output.
At the time, Germany had around 4,700 periodicals, most of which were not loyal to the Nazis. The transition to a one-party system led to the closure of many outlets. The Editor’s Law of October 4, 1933, banned Jews or anyone married to a Jew from working in the press. Newspapers were given strict instructions on what stories to publish, with severe consequences for non-compliance.
Goebbels saw radio as a powerful tool for spreading propaganda. By nationalizing radio stations, he gained control over the network and replaced unpatriotic staff with loyal party members. This allowed him to influence millions of German citizens directly and ban influences like jazz music.
During the war, censorship became even stricter. Listening to foreign radio stations was illegal, and sharing information from them could result in the death penalty. Paper rationing led to increased regulations for publishers, and only certain scientific works by non-Jewish authors were allowed.
The Nazi regime’s desperation to control information persisted until its final days. The last order banning a publication came in March 1945, even as Berlin was being bombed by the Allies.
Helen Keller, whose works were burned by the Nazis, wrote an open letter to Nazi students in 1933, stating, “History has taught you nothing if you think you can kill ideas.” This sentiment echoes the words of 19th-century German Jewish writer Heinrich Heine, who warned, “Where they burn books, they will also ultimately burn people.”
Research the events of the book burnings in Nazi Germany, focusing on the authors and works that were targeted. Create a presentation that highlights the impact of these burnings on intellectual freedom and cultural diversity. Share your findings with the class, emphasizing the importance of protecting freedom of expression.
Participate in a class debate on the role of censorship and propaganda in society. Divide into two groups: one supporting the necessity of censorship for societal stability and the other advocating for complete freedom of information. Use historical examples from Nazi Germany to support your arguments and engage in a critical discussion about the balance between security and freedom.
Write a fictional letter from the perspective of a student or professor at a German university during the book burnings. Describe your feelings about the events and the impact on your academic and personal life. Share your letter with the class to explore different viewpoints and the human side of historical events.
Analyze various propaganda techniques used by the Nazi regime, such as the control of media and cultural institutions. Create a visual or written report that explains these techniques and their effectiveness. Discuss how similar strategies are used in modern media and politics, drawing parallels to contemporary issues.
Watch a documentary about Nazi censorship and propaganda, such as “The Goebbels Experiment” or “Triumph of the Will.” After viewing, participate in a class discussion about the film’s portrayal of historical events and its impact on your understanding of the power of media in shaping public opinion.
**Censorship in Nazi Germany**
On the evening of May 10, 1933, a crowd of 40,000 Germans gathered in Berlin’s Opera Square to listen to a speech by Joseph Goebbels, one of Hitler’s closest advisors and Germany’s Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. The speech marked an important event: Germany’s universities had long been a hotbed of National Socialism, and students decided to demonstrate their support for the Nazi regime through the public burning of blacklisted works—those whose authors were considered undesirable by the state.
While claims at the time suggested that the burnings were a spontaneous uprising by the students in support of Nazi ideals, this was misleading. In reality, they were carefully planned and executed by the National Socialist German Students’ Union. In the weeks leading up to the burnings, libraries across the country were raided and purged of so-called questionable material. Works by Jewish authors such as Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein were obvious targets, as were Marxist and communist texts, along with works by foreign authors like Ernest Hemingway, Jack London, and Helen Keller, the American writer who championed the rights of the disabled.
Certain institutions, such as Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institute of Sexology, which were deemed contrary to the ideals of the Third Reich, also suffered devastating losses. The Institute was raided, staff members were attacked, and thousands of books and papers were stolen and added to the piles destined for the flames. It is believed that during this attack, Dora Richter, the first documented person to undergo gender reassignment surgery, was killed. The Institute, a progressive research and treatment center that provided support for the LGBTQ+ community, never recovered, and the loss of such a vast volume of irreplaceable research set the field of gender studies back by decades.
The Berlin book burning is believed to have begun at Friedrich Wilhelm University, where Professor Alfred Baeumler ended his inaugural lecture by inciting students to take action and burn any “un-German” books themselves. That evening, students loaded tens of thousands of books onto trucks and began a torchlight procession to the square, where, accompanied by SS bands playing German folk music, they erected bonfires. Goebbels’ speech that night has become known as the “Fire Speech.” In it, he proclaimed that Jewish intellectualism was dead and that “the soul of the German people can again express itself.” Goebbels received overwhelming support from the crowd, which began singing the Nazi anthem as the books continued to burn.
Similar demonstrations occurred at universities across Germany on the night of the 10th and in the weeks that followed. The book burnings of 1933 were not the first instance of Nazi censorship, nor were they the last, but they were among the most theatrical. Photographs from that night, depicting thousands of books representing the dreams, stories, and ideals of previous generations being turned to ashes amidst a Hitler-saluting crowd, serve as some of the most visceral examples of censorship in action and remain a chilling reminder to this day.
Although Hitler did not become Chancellor until 1933, Nazi attempts to control and manipulate the population began several years earlier. Berlin in the 1920s was one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, becoming a center for the arts and LGBTQ+ culture. Women increasingly joined the workforce, and there were even beginnings of a gay rights movement. Jewish people experienced unprecedented freedoms during this period, with Jewish writers, painters, and musicians rising to prominence in new professions.
However, as is often the case with progressive societies, there was a strong backlash among some segments of the population and within the political sphere. Throughout the Weimar period, older Germans, both on the right and left, became increasingly concerned about what they perceived as the degradation of society and a departure from traditional German culture.
In the late 1920s, the National Socialist Society for German Culture, later known as the Militant League for German Culture (KfdK), was formed. Although it did not begin as an official Nazi organization, its founder, Alfred Rosenberg, aimed to impose the core tenets of National Socialism on German culture. Throughout the early 1930s, the KfdK published several periodicals that condemned “degenerate art,” particularly the modernist movement, and attacked institutions and individuals they declared enemies.
One prominent member with direct political influence was Wilhelm Frick, who became one of the first members of the Nazi Party to be elected to the Reichstag in 1928. As his influence grew, he was appointed Minister of the Interior and Education of Thuringia in 1930, making him the first Nazi Party member to hold high office within the Reichstag. He immediately set about banning books, symphonies, and movies that opposed National Socialism, including Universal Studios’ “All Quiet on the Western Front.” He also created a mandatory list of national literature that all libraries had to carry.
When the Nazis completed their rise to power in 1933, Frick was appointed Minister for the Interior of Nazi Germany in Hitler’s first official cabinet. In the years that followed, he played a pivotal role in implementing the infamous Nuremberg Laws and was a leading advocate of Germany’s eugenics campaign.
To consolidate their power, the Nazi Party established the Ministry for Propaganda and Public Enlightenment, recognizing Goebbels’ talent in these matters. The new department allowed the Nazis to gain total control over all aspects of German media and creative expression, molding public opinion in a process known as “Nazification.”
In September of the same year, Goebbels created the Reich Chamber of Culture, which had seven sub-chambers to oversee different aspects of art and media, including film, literature, fine arts, broadcasting, music, theater, and the press. Anyone wishing to work in these fields was required to be a member of the respective chamber, allowing the ministry to control the country’s artistic and journalistic output and silence dissenting voices. Members had to follow strict measures to continue working, including requesting permission to leave the country for work.
At the time the Nazis took control, Germany had around 4,700 periodicals in circulation, the majority of which were not loyal to the new regime. The transition to a one-party system led to the closure of many outlets, particularly politically motivated ones, as laws and underhanded deals aimed at “arianizing” businesses thinned the field. By the time the Reich Press Chamber was established, much work remained to ensure the destruction of the free press. The Editor’s Law of October 4, 1933, forbade Jews or anyone married to a Jew from working in the press. Daily instructions dictated to newspapers what stories they could tell and how they could tell them. Failure to comply could result in job loss or, in extreme cases, admission to a concentration camp. It was strictly forbidden to publish anything that could be seen as weakening the strength of the Reich.
Goebbels was particularly interested in using radio as a means to spread propaganda. At the time, radio stations in Germany were nationalized and controlled by the post office, which owned the National Broadcasting Company. This made it relatively easy for Goebbels to seize control of the entire network and bring it under the ministry’s auspices. He fired anyone deemed unpatriotic and replaced them with loyal party members, securing a direct mouthpiece into the homes of millions of German citizens. Control of the radio also allowed Goebbels to steer the population away from what he considered decadent influences, such as jazz music, which was forbidden during the Nazi regime.
During the war years, censorship measures became even stricter. On September 2, 1939, it became illegal to listen to foreign radio stations, and anyone caught sharing information from foreign broadcasts could face the death penalty. The need for paper rationing during this period also led the Reich Chamber of Literature to increase regulations for publishers. From 1940 onward, they were required to provide advance notice of all books to be published and their respective authors. Works that could have been useful to the Allies, such as those detailing defensive capabilities, were censored. The only books from enemy states allowed to be published were purely scientific works by authors who had died before 1904 and were not Jewish.
The Nazi regime’s desperation to control and curate all information available to the German public persisted even into its final days. The last order banning a publication came as late as March 21, 1945, by which point Berlin was being reduced to rubble by Allied bombing, and the outcome of the war had long been decided. This restriction made it illegal to distribute maps scaled to one in three hundred thousand to public authorities.
Helen Keller, in an open letter to Nazi students in 1933 after learning that her works were among those that had been burned, wrote, “History has taught you nothing if you think you can kill ideas. Tyrants have tried to do that often before, and the ideas have risen up in their might and destroyed them.” It’s noteworthy that the first use of the word “holocaust,” which literally means “a burnt offering,” in connection with the Nazis referred to the book burnings. This is particularly poignant when considering the words of 19th-century German Jewish writer Heinrich Heine, who wrote, “Where they burn books, they will also ultimately burn people.”
Censorship – The suppression or prohibition of speech, public communication, or other information which may be considered objectionable, harmful, or sensitive, as determined by governments, media outlets, or other controlling bodies. – During World War II, censorship was heavily enforced to control the information that reached the public and maintain morale.
Propaganda – Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. – The government used propaganda to influence public opinion and rally support for the war effort.
Culture – The social behavior, norms, and practices that define a society or group, often reflected in their art, literature, and traditions. – The Renaissance was a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe, marked by advancements in art and literature.
Literature – Written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit, often reflecting the culture and values of a society. – The literature of the Romantic period emphasized emotion and individualism, influencing many subsequent writers.
History – The study of past events, particularly in human affairs, often involving the analysis of causes and effects. – Understanding history is crucial for learning from past mistakes and shaping a better future.
Nazism – The political principles of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945, characterized by dictatorial power, extreme nationalism, and the suppression of opposition. – Nazism led to the outbreak of World War II and the Holocaust, leaving a lasting impact on world history.
Germany – A country in Central Europe, which played a central role in both World War I and World War II, and underwent significant political and social changes throughout the 20th century. – After World War II, Germany was divided into East and West, symbolizing the broader geopolitical tensions of the Cold War.
Universities – Institutions of higher education and research, which grant academic degrees in various disciplines and are often centers of cultural and intellectual development. – During the Enlightenment, universities became hubs of new ideas and scientific discoveries.
Books – Written or printed works consisting of pages bound together, often serving as a medium for literature, knowledge, and cultural expression. – Books have been a primary means of preserving and transmitting knowledge throughout history.
Repression – The act of subduing someone or something by force, often used to describe the control of dissent or opposition in a political context. – The repression of dissenting voices was a common tactic used by authoritarian regimes to maintain power.
