European University Institute Library

Harmful and undesirable, book censorship in Nazi Germany, Guenter Lewy

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Harmful and undesirable

bibliography

945693481

Guenter Lewy

book censorship in Nazi Germany

"Like every authoritarian regime in history, Nazi Germany tried to control intellectual freedom through book censorship. Between 1933 and 1945, Hitler's party orchestrated a massive campaign to take control of all forms of communication in the nation. Book burnings abounded-- in 1933 alone, there were 93 book burnings in 70 German cities. Indeed, Werner Schlegel, an official in the Ministry of Propaganda, called the book burnings "a symbol of the revolution." Bookstores, libraries, and universities were pillaged, while German authors were targeted by the regime. Yet surprisingly, Nazi book censorship has been largely overlooked by modern historians. In Harmful and Undesirable, Guenter Lewy analyzes the various strategies that the Nazis employed to enact censorship and the people, including Martin Bormann, Philipp Bouhler, Joseph Goebbels, and Alfred Rosenberg, who led the attack on intellectual life. The Propaganda Ministry played a leading role in the censorship campaign, supported by an array of organizations at both the local and state levels. Because of the many overlapping jurisdictions and organizations, censorship was disorderly and erratic. Beyond the implementation of censorship, Lewy also describes the plight of authors, publishers, and bookstores who clashed with the Nazi regime. Some authors were imprisoned, tortured, and even killed. Meanwhile others, such as Gottfried Benn, Gerhart Hauptmann, Ernst Jünger, Jochen Klepper, and Ernst Wiechert became controversial "inner emigrants" who chose to remain in Germany and criticize the Nazi regime through allegories and parables. Ultimately, Lewy paints a fascinating portrait of intellectual life under the Nazi dictatorship, revealing the fate of those who were caught in the wheels of censorship."--, Provided by publisher

Part 1. The Emergence of Censorship. Book control in the Weimar Republic -- The book burning of 1933 -- Part 2. The Agencies of Control. The Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda -- The Reich Chamber of Literature -- The Gestapo and SD -- The Party Commission for the Protection of National Socialist Literature -- Alfred Rosenberg: Hitler's Plenipotentiary for ideological education -- Part 3. The Practice of Censorship. The reasons for banning books -- Jewish books -- The purge of libraries -- Wartime censorship -- The battle for turf -- Part 4. The Impact of Censorship. The inner emigration -- Conclusion