May 10, 1933
Nazi Student Groups Burn Books Across Germany
Historical context
On this day, May 10, 1933, pro-Nazi university students burned books they called “un-German,” including works by Jewish, pacifist, and leftist authors.
Archive record
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- Date
- May 10, 1933
- Verified sources
- 1
- Archive threads
- 3
On this day, the Deutsche Studentenschaft’s campaign against the “un-German spirit” culminated in book-burning ceremonies in university towns across Germany. Students burned works labeled undeutsch: books by Jewish authors, pacifist writing, and socialist or communist texts. The Nazi government supported the campaign; students organized the burnings.
The largest ceremony was in Berlin, where about 40,000 people gathered on the Opernplatz and about 20,000 volumes were burned. Joseph Goebbels spoke there.
Research trail
Sources and further reading
- Nazi Book Burnings · United States Holocaust Memorial Museum · Holocaust Encyclopedia View source
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