The article discusses the historical context of book burning, particularly the Nazi regime's attack on queer literature and the subsequent fate of the Institute for Sexual Science founded by Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld. It describes how the Nazis publicly burned resources on gender identity shortly after taking power in 1933. The article draws parallels between historical censorship and contemporary issues in the U.S., where similar tactics are observed under the Trump Administration, targeting LGBTQ+ and BIPOC literature in libraries, calling attention to ongoing struggles with censorship today.
On May 6, 1933 - barely three months after the Nazis came to power in Germany - Hitler's henchmen ransacked the Institute and, four days later, publicly burned its library of thousands of books pertaining to gender identity and sexual orientation in Berlin's Bebelplatz Square.
Modern-day authoritarians have figured out that torching tomes is bad for their brands, so you don't see many literal book burnings anymore. But censorship is occurring even as we speak in the United States.
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