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Teaching the Holocaust and other Genocides

Authors Targeted by the Nazi Book Burnings

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The Nazi book burnings of 1933 targeted works that were considered "un-German," subversive, or opposed to Nazi ideology. The books were often by Jewish authors, leftists, pacifists, or others deemed enemies of the state. Below is a list of notable authors whose works were burned: 

Jewish Authors 

  1. Albert Einstein - Scientific writings and pacifist essays. 

  1. Franz Kafka - Novels and short stories that defied traditional narrative and explored existential themes, such as The Trial and The Castle    

  1. Sigmund Freud - Works on psychoanalysis, including The Interpretation of Dreams, Civilization and its Discontents 

  1.  Stefan Zweig - Essays and novels critical of authoritarianism. 

  1. Martin Buber – Jewish theologian 

  1. George Grosz – Drawings  

Leftist Authors 

  1. Karl Marx - Political writings, including The Communist Manifesto, Das Kapital  writings 

  1. Erich Maria Remarque - All Quiet on the Western Front, an anti-war novel. 

  1. Bertolt Brecht - Plays and poems with socialist and anti-fascist themes. 

  1. Rosa Luxemburg - Political essays and revolutionary writings. 

  1. Erich Kästner – Emil and the Detectives 

  1. Vladimir Lenin – Communist writings 

  1. Zola, Émile -- Germinal 

Pacifists and Humanitarians 

  1. Heinrich Heine - Romantic poetry and essays. Ironically, Heine wrote the famous line: "Where they burn books, they will also burn people." 

  1. Helen Keller - How I Became a Socialist and writings on disability rights and pacifism. 

  1. Aldous Huxley – Brave New World, An Encyclopedia of Pacifism 

Modernist and Avant-Garde Writers 

  1. Thomas Mann - Essays critical of nationalism, though his major novels were also scrutinized. Buddenbrooks and other works 

  1. Hugo Ball - Founding figure of Dadaism, with writings against authoritarianism. 

  1. Kurt Tucholsky - Satirical writings critical of the Weimar Republic's enemies and rising fascism. 

Feminist Writers 

  1. Clara Zetkin - Writings on women's rights and socialism. 

  1. Else Lasker-Schüler - Expressionist poetry and plays. 

  1. Margaret Sanger – Writings on women's rights, such as My Fight for Birth Control 

Other Targets 

  1. Jack London - The Call of the Wild and socialist essays. 

  1. Upton Sinclair - Critiques of capitalism in works like The Jungle. 

  1. H.G. Wells - Works on science fiction and social commentary. 

  1. Émile Zola - Writings on social injustice, particularly J'accuse! 

  1. Friedrich Nietzsche - Ironically targeted for certain works, though selectively co-opted by the Nazis. 

  1. Hermann Hesse – Steppenwolf and other novels 

  1. Emil Ludwig – Biographies of notable figures like Napoleon and Goethe 

  1. Ernest Hemingway – A Farewell to Arms 

  1. Sinclair Lewis – Babbit, Main Street