Censorship in Germany
Encyclopedia
Censorship in Germany
has taken many forms during the history
of the region. Various regimes have restricted the press
, theatre
, cinema
, and other entertainment venues.
, many media were under Imperial
control. Before World War I
, civil
administrators appointed by the government were charged with ensuring the public decency
of printed material within the Empire.
The Imperial Press Law of 1874 ended the government's right to censor materials before publishing. It also eliminated the need for a government-issued license
to publish. However, the government retained the right to be notified of all publications as soon as printing began. Theatres, cinemas, cabaret
s, and music hall
s, however, were still subject to state licensing. Police had direct control over these venues.
With the outbreak of World War I
, the military
took over the censorship office with the aim of mobilizing German support for the war. A police
official was instated in every city for this purpose. Restrictions on materials became much harsher. Materials could be banned because of association with a particular person or country, or simply because the censor felt that the piece was distracting or a waste of time.
constitution
forbade censorship with the text "No censorship will take place". The only exception to this article was film. The film and cinema industry was regulated by the Film Assessment Headquarters. The purpose of this organization was to censor films released in Germany for pornography
and other indecent
content.
The 'Gesetz zur Bewahrung der Jugend vor Schund- und Schmutzschriften' (Law for the Protection of Youth from Trash and Filth Writings) from the 18th of December, 1926 provided for the partial censorship (restrictions on distribution) of printed materials in the interest of youth welfare, though it was only applied post-publication on a case-by-case basis. Furthermore, it incorporated limits to what could be censored and on what grounds; printed materials could not be added to the index for political, social, religious, ethical, or world-view-related reasons.
was implemented by the Minister of Propaganda
, Joseph Goebbels
. All media -- literature
, music
, newspaper
s, and public events—were censored. Attempts were also made to censor private communications, such as mail
and even private conversation, with mixed results.
The aim of censorship under the Nazi regime was simple: to reinforce Nazi power and to suppress opposing viewpoints and information. Punishments ranged from banning of presentation and publishing of works to deportation
, imprisonment, or even execution in a concentration camp.
Hitler
outlined his theory of propaganda and censorship in Mein Kampf
:
media were subject to censorship by the Allied
occupational
forces. Criticism of the occupational forces and of the emerging government were not tolerated. Publications which were expected to have a negative effect on the general public were not printed. A list of over 30,000 titles, including works by such authors as von Clausewitz
, was drawn up. All the millions of copies of these books were to be confiscated and destroyed. The representative of the Military Directorate admitted that the order in principle was no different from the Nazi book burnings
.
When the official government, the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland), took over, these limits were relaxed. The new German constitution
guaranteed freedom of press, speech, and opinion.
An index of harmful materials
listed those subjects and materials which are restricted in publishing and exhibition. These restrictions focused largely on material which could be harmful to minor
s, and included protections of personal dignity. Materials written or printed by organizations ruled to be anti-constitutional, such as Nazi
organizations or the Baader-Meinhof Gang
, were placed on the index.
The government also passed laws restricting the trade of materials considered Volksverhetzung
and forbidding the public expression of Holocaust denial
.
s without government approval were not hired. Censorship was implemented both before and after publication of a work.
The primary goal of East German censorship was to protect the interests of Communism
and its implementation. Works critical of the East German or the Soviet
governments were forbidden, as were any works which seemed sympathetic to fascism
.
Punishments were levied against dissenters to the censorship laws, up to and including deportation
to West Germany.
its jurisdiction, the same protections and restrictions as in West Germany apply to contemporary Germany. Continued globalization
and the advent of Internet
marketing present a new host of complications to German censorship and information laws.
There are four reasons for censorship or information and media control:
Membership in a Nazi
party, incitement of hatred against a segment of the population (Volksverhetzung
) and Holocaust denial
are illegal in Germany. Publishing, television
, public correspondence (including lectures), and music are censored accordingly, with legal consequences that may include jail time.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
has taken many forms during the history
History of Germany
The concept of Germany as a distinct region in central Europe can be traced to Roman commander Julius Caesar, who referred to the unconquered area east of the Rhine as Germania, thus distinguishing it from Gaul , which he had conquered. The victory of the Germanic tribes in the Battle of the...
of the region. Various regimes have restricted the press
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
, theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, cinema
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
, and other entertainment venues.
German Empire (1871-1918)
In the German EmpireGerman Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, many media were under Imperial
Empire
The term empire derives from the Latin imperium . Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy....
control. Before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, civil
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
administrators appointed by the government were charged with ensuring the public decency
Decency
Decency is the quality or state of conforming to social or moral standards of taste and propriety.-See also:*Taste *Communications Decency Act*Public indecency*Indecent exposure*Sodomy law*Norm *Grotesque body...
of printed material within the Empire.
The Imperial Press Law of 1874 ended the government's right to censor materials before publishing. It also eliminated the need for a government-issued license
License
The verb license or grant licence means to give permission. The noun license or licence refers to that permission as well as to the document recording that permission.A license may be granted by a party to another party as an element of an agreement...
to publish. However, the government retained the right to be notified of all publications as soon as printing began. Theatres, cinemas, cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
s, and music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
s, however, were still subject to state licensing. Police had direct control over these venues.
With the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
took over the censorship office with the aim of mobilizing German support for the war. A police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
official was instated in every city for this purpose. Restrictions on materials became much harsher. Materials could be banned because of association with a particular person or country, or simply because the censor felt that the piece was distracting or a waste of time.
Weimar Republic (1918-1933)
Article 118 of the WeimarWeimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
forbade censorship with the text "No censorship will take place". The only exception to this article was film. The film and cinema industry was regulated by the Film Assessment Headquarters. The purpose of this organization was to censor films released in Germany for pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
and other indecent
Decency
Decency is the quality or state of conforming to social or moral standards of taste and propriety.-See also:*Taste *Communications Decency Act*Public indecency*Indecent exposure*Sodomy law*Norm *Grotesque body...
content.
The 'Gesetz zur Bewahrung der Jugend vor Schund- und Schmutzschriften' (Law for the Protection of Youth from Trash and Filth Writings) from the 18th of December, 1926 provided for the partial censorship (restrictions on distribution) of printed materials in the interest of youth welfare, though it was only applied post-publication on a case-by-case basis. Furthermore, it incorporated limits to what could be censored and on what grounds; printed materials could not be added to the index for political, social, religious, ethical, or world-view-related reasons.
Nazi Germany (1933-1945)
Censorship in Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
was implemented by the Minister of Propaganda
Ministry of propaganda
An agency or ministry of propaganda is the part of a government charged with generating and distributing propaganda.Though governments routinely engage in propaganda, ministries with the word "propaganda" in their name have become progressively more rare since the end of World War II, as a result...
, Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
. All media -- literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s, and public events—were censored. Attempts were also made to censor private communications, such as mail
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
and even private conversation, with mixed results.
The aim of censorship under the Nazi regime was simple: to reinforce Nazi power and to suppress opposing viewpoints and information. Punishments ranged from banning of presentation and publishing of works to deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
, imprisonment, or even execution in a concentration camp.
Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
outlined his theory of propaganda and censorship in Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
:
- "The chief function of propaganda is to convince the masses, whose slowness of understanding needs to be given time so they may absorb information; and only constant repetition will finally succeed in imprinting an idea on their mind."
West Germany (1945-1990)
During the post-war period the West GermanWest Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
media were subject to censorship by the Allied
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
occupational
Military occupation
Military occupation occurs when the control and authority over a territory passes to a hostile army. The territory then becomes occupied territory.-Military occupation and the laws of war:...
forces. Criticism of the occupational forces and of the emerging government were not tolerated. Publications which were expected to have a negative effect on the general public were not printed. A list of over 30,000 titles, including works by such authors as von Clausewitz
Carl von Clausewitz
Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz was a Prussian soldier and German military theorist who stressed the moral and political aspects of war...
, was drawn up. All the millions of copies of these books were to be confiscated and destroyed. The representative of the Military Directorate admitted that the order in principle was no different from the Nazi book burnings
Nazi book burnings
The Nazi book burnings were a campaign conducted by the authorities of Nazi Germany to ceremonially burn all books in Germany which did not correspond with Nazi ideology.-The book-burning campaign:...
.
When the official government, the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland), took over, these limits were relaxed. The new German constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
guaranteed freedom of press, speech, and opinion.
An index of harmful materials
Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien
The Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons is an upper-level German federal agency subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. It is responsible for examining media works allegedly harmful to young people and entering these onto an...
listed those subjects and materials which are restricted in publishing and exhibition. These restrictions focused largely on material which could be harmful to minor
Minor (law)
In law, a minor is a person under a certain age — the age of majority — which legally demarcates childhood from adulthood; the age depends upon jurisdiction and application, but is typically 18...
s, and included protections of personal dignity. Materials written or printed by organizations ruled to be anti-constitutional, such as Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
organizations or the Baader-Meinhof Gang
Red Army Faction
The radicalized were, like many in the New Left, influenced by:* Sociological developments, pressure within the educational system in and outside Europe and the U.S...
, were placed on the index.
The government also passed laws restricting the trade of materials considered Volksverhetzung
Volksverhetzung
Volksverhetzung is a concept in German criminal law that bans the incitement of hatred against a segment of the population. It often applies in, though it is not limited to, trials relating to Holocaust denial in Germany...
and forbidding the public expression of Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
.
East Germany (1945-1990)
Censorship in East Germany, the German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische Republik) was widely implemented. Licenses were required to publish any material, and permission was required to exhibit or perform any visual art. In addition, journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
s without government approval were not hired. Censorship was implemented both before and after publication of a work.
The primary goal of East German censorship was to protect the interests of Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and its implementation. Works critical of the East German or the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
governments were forbidden, as were any works which seemed sympathetic to fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
.
Punishments were levied against dissenters to the censorship laws, up to and including deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
to West Germany.
After reunification (1990-present)
Since Germany kept the West German constitution after East Germany joinedGerman reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
its jurisdiction, the same protections and restrictions as in West Germany apply to contemporary Germany. Continued globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
and the advent of Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
marketing present a new host of complications to German censorship and information laws.
There are four reasons for censorship or information and media control:
- A decision of a court that assumes that a publication is violating another person's personal rights (a newspaper for example can be forced not to publish pictures of privacy anymore).
- All forms of movie ratings (also for computer games but not for books) motivated by youth protection.
- Media that is assumed to be very harmful to youth is indexed by the Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende MedienBundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende MedienThe Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons is an upper-level German federal agency subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. It is responsible for examining media works allegedly harmful to young people and entering these onto an...
(Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons). These publications are restricted in marketing but not de jureDe jureDe jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....
censored in general. Indexing can grant publicity but is often tried to prevent. The reduced violence in some German versions of movies and games that carry a USKUnterhaltungssoftware SelbstkontrolleUnterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle is the organization responsible for computer game ratings in Germany.- Ratings :...
rating have in fact not been censored, but the companies releasing them have decided themselves to remove certain content in order to make the media available to a wider audience. - Publications violating laws (that restrict freedom of speech in general) can be censored; their authors can be penalised. Such restrictions are VolksverhetzungVolksverhetzungVolksverhetzung is a concept in German criminal law that bans the incitement of hatred against a segment of the population. It often applies in, though it is not limited to, trials relating to Holocaust denial in Germany...
, slander and libel (which are in Germany Beleidigung, Verleumdung and Üble Nachrede). Especially Üble Nachrede (defamatory statement) scarcely causes censorship. Üble Nachrede (Defamatory statement) means violating personal rights by spreading gossip/news which are neither evidentially true or false.
Membership in a Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
party, incitement of hatred against a segment of the population (Volksverhetzung
Volksverhetzung
Volksverhetzung is a concept in German criminal law that bans the incitement of hatred against a segment of the population. It often applies in, though it is not limited to, trials relating to Holocaust denial in Germany...
) and Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
are illegal in Germany. Publishing, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, public correspondence (including lectures), and music are censored accordingly, with legal consequences that may include jail time.