Essay on Nazi Book Burning - 858 Words

Nearly a century before World War II, German Jewish poet Heinrich Heine wrote, â€Å"Where they burn books, they will also ultimately burn people (â€Å"Holocaust History†). These chilling words not only forecasted the events to come, but also went up in flames in Germany during the Nazi book burning. Throughout Germany on May 10, 1933, thousands of people came out to witness these horrid events. These public displays of censorship were monstrous in nature. Book burning is defined as â€Å"the ritual destruction by fire of books or other written materials. Usually carried out in a public context, the burning of books represents an element of censorship and usually proceeds from a cultural, religious, or political opposition to the materials in†¦show more content†¦In this war, [World War II] we know, books are weapons† (Von Merveldt). He was trying to lift the American spirits in spite of the horrific events in Europe . In Germany, the mood was much more cheerful, as they were accompanied by singing of â€Å"Nazi songs and anthems† (The History Place). The leader of propaganda and book burning for the Nazi party, Joseph Goebbels, proclaimed â€Å"The flames not only illuminate the end of the old era, they also light up the new.† (Foxman) Unlike the rest of the world, the Nazi party viewed the book burning as a positive event and as a beginning, not an end. Not only did the Nazis try to censor literature, they also tried to eliminate foreign ideas by limiting types of art and communication. The Nazis â€Å"judged most of modern art degenerate† and tried to expel it from the country (Foxman). They also tried to limit all communication, which was limited already to â€Å"books, newspapers, periodicals, radio, and the moving pictures† because of the time period (Foxman). Any communication had to be deemed German before it could be permitted. So many movies were banned that films were almost nonexisten t except for Nazi propaganda. The Nazi’s attempt was to limit all communication from other countries, so that only their ideas would be accepted, which is the same rationale as the book burnings. The book burnings and the censorship in Germany relate directly to Ayn Rand’s works. In oneShow MoreRelatedNazi Book Burning Of 19331089 Words   |  5 PagesVishnu Dasaka Mr.Stevens Modern Classics Period 3 22 October 2015 Nazi Book Burning of 1933 The Jewish poet Heinrich Heine once said, Where books are burned, human beings are destined to be burned too. Did you know that the Chinese government uses â€Å"The Great Firewall† of China to monitor and prohibit any dissent against the Chinese government?(Mark Jacob and Stephan Benzkofer) These kind of actions are called acts of censorship and most of themRead MoreBook Burning in Nazi Germany1237 Words   |  5 PagesBook burning is the ceremonial destruction of books or any other written works by fire. And it is done in public. Also it is a representation of censorship. The drive behind such acts can either be political, cultural, or religious resistance to the material in question. The purpose of the Nazi book burning was to destroy all ideologies that were considered to be un-German. In 1933, university students were on a mission to cleanse Germany of Jewish intellectual ideas (Fishburn, 2007). They believeRead MoreThe Sà ¤uberung Baptism: The Reasoning Behind Nazi Book Burning943 Words   |  4 PagesThe removal of free intellectualism and the integration of the â€Å"Pure German Spirit† way of thinking were achieved though the burning of all text deemed â€Å"un-German†. But what makes a text un-German? Simply anything that questioned, threatened, or was simply different then what the Fà ¼hrer and the Reich believed in. The burning of thousands of books was caused by the Action against the Un-German Spirit, by the will of the German student association. The horrid event took place during the WartburgRead MoreUse Of Literary Devices Used By Ray Bradbury1856 Words   |  8 Pagesnovel elucidation of how the society in the books has been burnt to ashes just like the mythical phoenix, leading to a possibility of an ultimate regeneration of a brand new, vital, civilization with the augmented knowledge, through the existence of books Montag and the others have. A nuanced argument statement can also lend a hand to authenticate the thesis statement. Several may argue that burning books should continue until every single banned book has been burnt, interpreting it as a more relishingRead MoreRay Bradbury s Fahrenheit 4512451 Words   |  10 Pagesand government with banning and burning of books, and suppressing society’s minds from history. Their logical thought was that it would keep society from thinking too much, which in turn would prevent bad thoughts, and to keep them â€Å"happy all the time†. The book tells a story of Guy Montag, the protagonist, and his life as a book burner. He was an â€Å"instrument† of the government, a firefighter that was used to suppress information from people by burning all books. The characters live in a worldRead MoreThe Night Of The Broken Glass By Markus Zusak1337 Words   |  6 PagesJoseph Goebbels made a speech that initiated a crowd of violent Nazi activists who would burn down over 1,000 synagogues, and destroy over 7,000 businesses, thus creating Kristallnacht, ‘the night of the broken glass’. Following this act, was the beginning of the Holocaust. 6 months later, on May 10, 1933, members of the Nazi German Student Association, as well as other university students, burned close to 25,00 volumes of â€Å"un-German† books to promote their nationwide campaign: â€Å"Actions against the un-GermanRead MoreThe Book Thief By Markus Zusak1549 Words   |  7 Pages The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is classified as a historical fiction novel because it tells a story that takes place during a tragic period in human history. This book reminds readers of the unspeakable acts that occurred during World War II under the Nazi Regime in Germany. The book focuses on the life of a nine year old girl, Liesel Meminger, living in Germany during this period of history. Markus Zusak was significantly influenced by his parent’s stories of their personal experiences of whatRead MoreThe Power of Secrets in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Essay702 Words   |  3 Pages â€Å"‘Book burning’ refers to the ritual destruction by fire of books or other written materials. Usually carried out in a public context, the burning of books represents an element of censorship and usually proceeds from a cultural, religious, or political opposition to the materials in question.† (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) The night of May 10, 1933, German students from some of the best universities in the world, gathered in Berlin to burn books with un-German ideas. The students,Read MoreGrowing Up During the Holocaust: A Look at the Other Side of World War II1461 Words   |  6 PagesThere are lots of books about the Holocaust, and what it was like to be in a concentration camp as a Jew, or what it was like being an SS officer during that time, but barely any focus on what is was like to grow up in the Holocaust as a civilian onlooker to the war. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak he tells the story of Liesel Meminger who travels to a foster home in Munich Germany, and experiences what it’s like to live in a war. She deals with rations, knowledge limited to the learnings of whatRead MoreThe Book Thief By Markus Zusak1231 Words   |  5 PagesIn The Book Thief, Markus Zusak shows different contexts with the same similar message. Zusak is revealing to the reader that words can be very powerful . The societal statement â€Å"power is knowledge† can be linked to the book by how knowledge creates power.The setting of Nazi Germany within the book burnings event, the basement with Max, and Liesel defending herself by her choice of words are all relevant to this societal statement since it demonstrates the idea of knowledge in numerous ways, and how