Matthew Fishburn

Although the Nazi book burnings are a well-known trope of censureship, I'd never seen an in-depth account of the cultural reactions to that event, until now. The author backed into the topic, he says, having conceived a larger project on the multivalent significance of fire. On the one hand it is a destroyer, but on the other it is a purifier, clearing the stage for new growth by purging decadent and harmful influences.

Although he stops short of labeling Nazi book burnings as something that show more from some perspectives can be a good thing, he lets us know that at the time many commentators did not see the harm, and even saw a bit of the good. I confess confess this set uncomfortably with me, since I see book burning as categorically a bad thing, with no redeeming value. Sure, even this stance has to be nuanced, suggesting that the moral significance of the burning or disposal depends on the intent: if the goal is to make the contents inaccessible, or even just to signal its unacceptability, then it is bad; if it is to dispose of extra copies or outmoded, superseded volumes, it is not. show less