“‘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, along with Nazi officials, threw hundreds of books into a bonfire while giving the Hitler salute and singing Nazi anthems. The students gave up everything that they had believed in due to their unwavering adoration for Hitler and his beliefs.
Germany was now being led by Adolf Hitler, a high school drop out who aspired to become an artist and was strongly anti-intellectual. Before Hitler, German universities had been considered some of the best in the world, but under Hitler’s rule, many young people living in Nazi Germany where very hard behind their peers from other western countries. Western education became secondary to teaching the youth mysticism, speculation and collective thinking toward a common goal and of course, the pursuit of a glorious future for Germany.
People that did not follow Hitler and the Nazi Party who remained behind in Germany only managed to escape through hiding their true feelings. The Nazis could never actually know one's thoughts as long as one maintained a poker face and didn't reveal those private thoughts. This can be seen in “The Book Thief”.
Liesel Meminger was a very bright girl that didn’t have the resources to flourish. Her mother must hide from the Nazis because she is a communist and sends Liesel ...
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...on of words and their power.
Works Cited
Losowsky, Andrew. "Book Burning In History: Martin Luther To Harry Potter (PHOTOS)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 May 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2014. .
"Adolf Hitler." Jewish Virtual Library. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014. .
"Book Burning." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, 10 June 2013. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. .
"Nazi Propaganda and Censorship." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. .
Markus Zusak’s novel The Book Thief depicts the life of a certain young German girl named Liesel Meminger during World War II. Her story was told through the eyes of Death, who narrates both the blessings and devastation that occurred during that era. Liesel experiences living with her new foster parents and come across a boy named Rudy Steider who will later on become her best friend. As the story unfolds, Liesel gradually discovers the horrifying truth behind the Nazi regime as her foster parents take refuge of a Jewish man. Despite being in the midst of destruction and recently coping from her traumatic background, she undertakes on a journey of self-discovery and
The Book Thief and Nazi Germany The heavily proclaimed novel “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak is a great story that can help you understand what living in Nazi Germany was like. Throughout the story, the main character, Liesel goes through many hardships to cope with a new life in a new town and to come to the recognition of what the Nazi party is. Liesel was given up for adoption after her mother gave her away to a new family, who seemed harsh at first, but ended up being the people who taught her all the things she needed to know. Life with the new family didn’t start off good, but the came to love them and her new friend, Rudy.
Hitler and the Nazi party used fear, terror, and propaganda to keep their power over Germany. But even before that, when he sought to w...
After World War I, there was a spiritual void left within the people of Germany. The outcome of the war had ripped the German society along the class lines causing great stress and tension among the people. The people of Germany had believed all along that they were winning the war, and therefore the news of surrender came as a great shock to them. To make things worse, the peace treaty established placed the entire fault of the war on Germany and left them responsible for paying for the costs of the war for all who were involved. This sparked a conflict between the middle and working classes in society. Then, the depression followed, creating even more unhappiness among the people. With all of this unhappiness because of the class divisions and the depression, the Nazi...
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Envision a world where evil has taken over, simply because decent people are willing to do nothing to oppose the evil that is taking over. The idea is not far off from reality, because many people believe evil is prevails when decent people do nothing. Among these people was Edmund Burke, who once said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” He meant that injustice will continue to take place when good people don’t choose to fight against injustices. Many people agree with Burke, because true events have occurred that support Burke’s statement. Some people disagree, because they believe that even when righteous people intervene, evil will continue to prosper. However, Burke is correct in his statement
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