Book Burning

Book burning has been going on for thousands of years. The first book burning recorded in history occurred in 213 BCE, when Qin Shi Huang, a historical Chinese emperor, wanted to boast his authority and high stature. He burned many books without a doubt in his mind. Burning books has been a way of symbolizing disrespect towards other cultures, countries, and religions. Another example of book burning was during the holocaust when the Nazis went on a rampage of destroying books, especially Jewish ones. This was called Feuersprüche. The Nazis took all books that they considered leftist, Jewish, or un-German, and managed to burn as many as 2500 to 9000 books in a single bonfire. The Jews viewed books like the Talmud or Torah as a very important part of their culture and believed they had souls. Jewish people were even referred to as “people of the book”. Another occurrence of book burning may come to mind, when Julius Caesar attacked The Port of Alexandria in 48 BCE, setting the grand library ablaze. The burning of books and libraries is a part of our history that should not be repeated, but the stories should still be told, demonstrating the damage caused by the destruction of knowledge and culture.