Nazi book policy combined total destruction with systematic collection
Evidence
The first strand was the wholesale destruction of the entire written record of groups singled out for obliteration: this assault on culture, to wipe memory from the face of the earth, has been described as libricide, the genocide of books. Second, in paradoxical opposition to this policy, was the systematic collecting in Nazi Germany of huge collections of the books of enemy ideologies, so that even in the perennial rule of National Socialism, these evils – Bolshevism, Socialism, Judaism, Freemasonry – could be studied. — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 754
Categorization
- DEFINE: Introduces the term ‘libricide’ and explains the paradoxical dual policy of Nazi library administration.
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 754
- XREF: connects to: France lost between ten and twenty million book volumes to Germany — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 777; Nazi Germany converted public library holdings entirely to propaganda — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 963; Conquest-era book destruction aimed to demoralize foes and eradicate rival religions — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 368 (+6 more)
Broader Connections
- Neglect destroyed more ancient libraries than war or malice did
#contradicts(0.55) — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 58 - The great Chicago fire destroyed up to three million library volumes
#qualifies(0.40) — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 869 - German artillery destroyed all three Strasbourg libraries in 1870
#exemplifies(0.35) — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 737