In 1933, National Socialist extremists launched the “Aktion wider den undeutschen Geist,” which culminated in public book burnings, aimed at purging what they deemed “un-German” ideas from German literature and culture. These actions destroyed countless literary treasures and marked a devastating attack on intellectual freedom and the beginning of a dark time in European history. Growing up in Germany during the Cold War era, my formative years were shaped by teachings in school to prevent the dangers of fascist extremism from resurfacing.
Fast forward to America’s book-banning culture today, we risk raising a generation ill-equipped to grapple with the complexities of our world and vulnerable to the very ideologies America once fought to defeat. As the election nears, school boards and library committees are increasingly giving in to pressure from extremist minorities who want to remove titles that challenge their beliefs deeming them “un-American.” Never in the history of this country has intellectual freedom been more important than now.