“'Book burning' refers to the ritual destruction by fire of books or other written material. Usually carried out in a public context, book burning represents an element of censorship and usually arises from cultural, religious or political opposition to the materials in question.” (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) On the night of May 10, 1933, German students from some of the world's top universities gathered in Berlin to burn books with non-German ideas. The students, along with Nazi officials, threw hundreds of books into a bonfire while giving the Hitler salute and singing Nazi songs. The students abandoned everything they had believed in because of their unwavering adoration for Hitler and his beliefs. Germany was now led by Adolf Hitler, a high school dropout who aspired to be an artist and was strongly anti-intellectual. Before Hitler, German universities were considered among the best in the world, but under Hitler's rule, many young people living in Nazi Germany lagged far behind their peers in other Western countries. Western education became secondary to the teaching of youthful mysticism, speculation and collective thinking towards a common goal and, of course, the search for a glorious future for Germany. The people who did not follow Hitler and the Nazi Party who remained in Germany only managed to escape. hiding their true feelings. The Nazis could never truly know your thoughts as long as you kept a poker face and didn't reveal those private thoughts. This can be seen in "The Book Thief". Liesel Meminger was a very bright girl who didn't have the resources to thrive. Her mother has to hide from the Nazis because she is a communist and sends Liesel...... middle of paper......on words and their power. Works Cited Losowsky, Andrew. "Books burned in history: from Martin Luther to Harry Potter (PHOTO)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, May 10, 2013. Web. February 17, 2014. "Adolf Hitler." Jewish virtual library. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, n.d. Web. 16 February 2014. “Book Burning.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Remembrance Council, June 10, 2013. Web. February 19, 2014. “Nazi Propaganda and Censorship.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Remembrance Council, n.d. Web. 19 February. 2014. .