Richard Cai
Mr. Scarzfava
English 9H
April 14, 2023
How The Nazi Book Burnings Allowed Hitler to Strengthen Nazism
The Nazi book burnings conducted during Hitler’s reign were a major aspect of his rule during the Third Reich. Although the book burnings weren’t as violent as most of the other methods used by the Nazis, they were more of a way to enforce socialist ideals. By burning the books of those who opposed his rule, Hitler was able to censor outside or anti-Nazi ideas, spread Nazi propaganda, and begin a new cultural revolution that strengthened the Nazist ideas within Germany. Ideas that the socialists deemed un-German or could inspire such intentions to oppose their rule were targeted in the book burnings.
On May 10, 1933, the Nazi
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What the Nazis referred to as the ‘national socialist revolution’ was the elimination of political opposition and Hitler using what was good in the German past, while rejecting what he saw as bad. (Evans) During this era of Nazi dominance within Germany, Hitler tried to spark a cultural revolution by means of purging parts of its past to emphasize Nazi ideology and virtues through the destruction of literature deemed unsatisfactory or unacceptable. The goal of this revolution was to preserve German socialism within German culture by gaining support from the German people, which in turn created a total culture that strengthened the Nazi regime. In addition, an article from the Modern Humanities Research Association remarks, “... the German Enlightenment, is referred to more than once in condemnation of any attempt to destroy the spirit of opposition through the destruction of a book…” (Ritchie 629) According to this quote, this movement aimed to discourage opposition from the German people through book burnings which also served as a way to encourage nationalism. The German Enlightenment is the term that was used to describe this development as many believed it was a step towards a brighter future for Germany. As seen throughout the Nazi’s reign, Hitler was known for his book burnings which were an attempt to trigger a rebirth of culture and information to fortify Nazi ideals into the minds of the