A brief history of book burning, from the printing press to internet archives as long as there have been books, people have burned thembut over the years, the motivation has changed. The nazi book burnings were a campaign conducted by the german student union the dst to ceremonially burn books in nazi germany and austria in the 1930s. It was out of this mixed heritage of both greek and near eastern book collections that the idea for the library of alexandria was born. Esther clifford recants being a young child and witnessing the burning of books in 1933, germany. Reported as just like the ritual burning of books in nazi germany, a bookburning ceremony was held by students of the socially harmful cult universal medicine, an esoteric healing business which was owned by serge benhayon. Students were invited to throw their books onto the pyre. The books targeted for burning were those viewed as being subversive or as representing ideologies opposed to nazism. Here is a reference to about 2,000 years ago, and the library at alexandria was burned at least 2,100 years ago. The famed building had its contents and structure burned during multiple periods of political upheaval, including in 48 b. These included books written by jewish, pacifist, religious, liberal, anarchist, socialist, communist, and sexologist. A brief history of book burning, from the printing press.
In 25 ad senator aulus cremutius cordus was forced to commit suicide and his history was burned by the aediles, under the order of the senate. In the 20th century, book burning is most closely associated with nazi germany, and for good reasonthe nazis wanted to be known for it. The works of jewish authors like albert einstein and sigmund freud went up in flames alongside. Works of prominent jewish, liberal, and leftist writers ended up in the bonfires. Book burnings in germany, 1933 american experience. The library of alexandria the crime that set human civilization back 1,000 years. The earliest recorded incident of bookburning in history appears, however, to be emperor qin shi huangs order in 2 bc that all books of philosophy and history from anywhere other than qin. On this day, university students in germany burned over 25,000 ungerman books as a. Provides the text of the twelve theses against the ungerman spirit, written by the leadership of the deutsche studentenschaft german students corporation and read at many of the 1933 burnings. The burning of the library of alexandria preston chesser the loss of the ancient worlds single greatest archive of knowledge, the library of alexandria, has been lamented for ages. The burning of alexandrias books recalls the scene of the night of may 19, 1933 when thousands of people chanting nazi. She talks about how she saw her former friends throwing the works of jewish authors in the fire. The book burnings took place in 34 university towns and cities.
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