![]() ![]() On April 8 the students’ association also drafted its twelve "theses"-a deliberate evocation of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses: declarations which described the fundamentals of a "pure" national language and culture. Local chapters were to supply the press with releases and commissioned articles, offer blacklists of “un-German” authors, sponsor well-known Nazi figures to speak at public gatherings, and negotiate for radio broadcast time. On April 6, 1933, the Nazi German Student Association's Main Office for Press and Propaganda proclaimed a nationwide “Action against the Un-German Spirit,” to climax in a literary purge or “cleansing” ( Säuberung) by fire. After World War I, many students opposed the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) and found in National Socialism a suitable vehicle for their political discontent and hostility. ![]() The ultra-nationalism and antisemitism of middle-class, secular student organizations had been intense and vocal for decades. German university students were among the vanguard of the early Nazi movement, and in the late 1920s, many filled the ranks of various Nazi formations. In an effort to synchronize the literary community, Goebbels had a strong ally in the National Socialist German Students’ Association ( Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund, or NSDStB). The government purged cultural organizations of Jewish and other officials alleged to be politically suspect or who performed or created art works which Nazi ideologues labeled “degenerate.” Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Minister for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda, began an effort to bring German arts and culture in line with Nazi goals. In 1933, Nazi German authorities aimed to synchronize professional and cultural organizations with Nazi ideology and policy ( Gleichschaltung). The students, demonstrating for a unified country-Germany was then a patchwork of states-burned anti-national and reactionary texts and literature which the students viewed as “Un-German.” "Synchronizing" Culture with Nazi Ideology In 1817, German student associations ( Burschenschaften) chose the 300th anniversary of Luther’s 95 Theses to hold a festival at the Wartburg, a castle in Thuringia where Luther had sought sanctuary after his excommunication. The May 1933 book burning in Nazi Germany had a precedent in nineteenth century Germany. The burning of books under the Nazi regime on May 10, 1933, is perhaps the most famous book burning in history. 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. Book burning has a long and dark history.īook burning refers to the ritual destruction by fire of books or other written materials.
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