Course:LIBR548F/2012WT1/Libricide

Libricide

Northwestern University: Available at:http://tinyurl.com/9x6jtu8

Introduction

Destruction of the written word is nothing new and should not be seen as a recent phenomenon. The destruction of books has taken place all throughout history: it has been recorded to have taken place in the Ancient World in such places as Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome and Greece, for example. Book destruction also took place throughout the Byzantine Empire as well as during the Medieval period, the Renaissance, the Reformation, and as part of various revolutions. The practice of destroying books has continued into to modern times, from the 19th century to today.

The following wiki entry is focused on the destruction of books from a state-sponsored perspective, rather than destruction on a smaller scale or individual cases of book destruction.

Defining the destruction of the written word

There are several terms that can be used to describe the destruction of books, notably ‘bibliocaust’ and ‘libricide'.

Bibliocaust may be defined as “the destruction of books […] an attempt to annihilate a memory considered to a direct or indirect threat to another memory thought superior.”

Libricide may be defined as the “killing of a book”. An expansion of this definition describes libricide as "an organized form of biblioclasm that stems from an extremist regime’s pursuit […] of millennial ambitions and territorial claims that are held as the solution to social chaos".

Perception and role of books in society

In order to properly understand why books have been burned and targeted for destruction throughout history, it is important to have an apppreciation and understanding of the role and place books have in society.

Books represent more than their physical manifestation. Books are the holders of memory, be this individual or collective.Books are and can be used as symbols.

Books play a central role in linking individuals to a set of beliefs, be they religious, cultural etc. Importantly, books play a central part in creating identity. This is especially relevant in the case of shared identity. It is through collective memory, that a united sense of identity and a feeling of belonging may be formed. When competing ideas of nationalism are at play, books are understandably targeted, as the repositories of ideas and ideologies.

Book burning in Nazi Germany. Available from the National Archives: ARC Identifier 535791 / Local Identifier 208-N-39840

Reasons for libricide

From a state-sponsored perspective, those who destroy books are hoping to eradicate culture: both the physical representation and the ideology and beliefs contained within. This represents a type of fundamental biblioclasty: those destroying books and other textual documents are aware that the content of these materials are valuable and are destroying them for that reason specifically; books may be destroyed in this manner because of the fact that they may promote certain ideologies, for example.

With the destruction of the physical books, an attempt is being made to prevent others accessing the material. Preventing access to or destroying material deemed culturally significant may be used as a way to limit or outlaw elements central to both the existence and demonstration of culture, be that religious, linguistic etc. Book destruction may take place because of the need to remove religious material, material documenting perceived competing nationalisms or materials from cultures deemed ‘inferior’

It has been noted by humanistic historian Babara Tuchman that “books are the carriers of civilization. [..] Books are humanity in print". In this context, with the destruction of books, one is destroying civilization. The large scale destruction of books has also been seen as a way to stagnate culture, to reduce its “cultural visibility and increase retrogression”. There are many documented cases of this throughout history: Nazi Germany, the Khymer Rouge regime in Cambodia and the Cultural Revolution in China, to name but a few. There are often also other concerning underlying motives at play with the destruction of books, such as acculturation and transculturation. Acculturation and transculturation describes the process whereby “one culture imposes itself on another and transplants new memories in a society”. In this way, the destruction of books is an attempt to destroy and erase history.

Libricide and Libraries

With book burning in the 20th century, the destruction of books and libraries are inextricably linked. Libraries have been specifically targeted for both their material holdings, as well as ideologies and reputations long associated with libraries, such as freedom to information and their established place as a cultural institution; the shelling of the National Library in Sarajevo in 1992 is an example of this..

Some documented cases of libricide (20th and 21st Century)

Nazi Germany (1933) Bosnian War (1992-1995) China's Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) Khymer Rouge regime, Cambodia (1975-1979) Afghanistan (1994-2001) Harry Potter book burnings (2000s) Iraq (April 2003) Franco's Spain (1939-1976) Pinochet dictatorship, Chile (1973-1990)

Annotated bibliography

• Báez, F. (2008) A universal history of the destruction of books: From ancient Sumer to modern Iraq. New York: Atlas & Co.

A comprehensive history of the destruction of books is provided. The book begins by examining the topic in the Ancient world and looks at book destruction in the likes of Ancient Egypt, Greek and Roman times. The author then moves on to explore this phenomenon from the Byzantine era to the nineteenth century before finishing up with an investigation into book destruction in the 20th and 21st centuries.

• Knuth, R. (2003) Libricide: The regime sponsored destruction of books and libraries in the twentieth century. Connecticut: Praeger.

A theoretical framework for libricide is provided. Book destruction is examined in an international context, with explorations into documented libricide in Nazi Germany, China and Serbia for example.

• Knuth, R. (2006) Burning books and levelling libraries: Extremist violence and cultural destruction. Connecticut: Praeger.

This book provides a concise overview of the phenomenon of book destruction. The history of book destruction is traced from the French revolution to Soviet Russia. The book focuses on a number of specific incidents of book destruction that have taken place in the 20th and 21st centuries.

References

<references> Báez, F. (2008) A universal history of the destruction of books: From ancient Sumer to modern Iraq. New York: Atlas & Co. p.14 </ref>” <references> Knuth, R. (2003) Libricide: The regime sponsored destruction of books and libraries in the twentieth century. Connecticut: Praeger. p.viii <references> Ibid.