Libricide: The Regime-Sponsored Destruction of Books and Libraries in the Twentieth Century
Praeger – Publication Date: July 30, 2003
Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings, declared German poet Heinrich Heine. This book identifies the regime-sponsored, ideologically driven, and systemic destruction of books and libraries in the 20th century that often served as a prelude or accompaniment to the massive human tragedies that have characterized a most violent century. Using case studies of libricide committed by Nazis, Serbs in Bosnia, Iraqis in Kuwait, Maoists during the Cultural Revolution in China, and Chinese Communists in Tibet, Knuth argues that the destruction of books and libraries by authoritarian regimes was sparked by the same impulses toward negation that provoked acts of genocide or ethnocide. Readers will learn why some people—even those not subject to authoritarian regimes—consider the destruction of books a positive process. Knuth promotes understanding of the reasons behind extremism and patterns of cultural terrorism, and concludes that what is at stake with libricide is nothing less than the preservation and continuation of the common cultural heritage of the world. Anyone committed to freedom of expression and humanistic values will embrace this passionate and valuable book.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Books, Libraries, and the Phenomenon of Ethnocide
- The Evolution and Function of Libraries
- A Theoretical Framework for Libricide
- Nazi Germany: Racism and Nationalism
- Great Serbia
- Iraq, Kuwait, and the Politics of Thuggery
- China’s Cultural Revolution
- Tibet: A Culture in Jeopardy
- The Collision of Ideas
Reviews
Knuth expertly straddles the disciplines of political history, political philosophy, sociology and of course, library and information science, to deliver a piece of work that would be of interest to students and scholars rooted in any of these aforementioned disciplines….[a] truly indispensable resource. Not only is Libricide indispensable, it is seminal. – Library Review
Knuth really brings her point home. Her provocative study is recommended for professional reading collections, library schools, and educated general readers interested in intellectual freedom. – Library Journal
After summarily disposing in her first few pages of the longer history of desultory library destruction, she goes into detailed accounts of recent purposeful library depredations (those of the last three-score years or so) involving ideology-driven, regime-sponsored, systematic destruction of book collections intended to bring about the suppression of an entire populace, culture, and/or political will. Hers is a sobering story indeed….Although this is not a pleasant book to read, Knuth is a careful scholar and an engaging writer. Of the three recent books on this same general theme read by this reviewer, hers is easily the most thorough and compelling. It is comprehensively researched, fully documented, and well annotated. – Libraries & Culture
Lurking behind the academic prose of this historical survey is a compelling, provocative analysis of “libricide,” the systematic destruction or robbery of books and other cultural artifacts as part of an ideological campaign against a group or nation. Focusing on five case studies-Germany, Bosnia, Kuwait, China and Tibet-Knuth, a professor of library and information science at the University of Hawaii, argues that libricide often coincides with, or even precedes, genocide. The earliest modern example of such a pattern occurred in Germany, where the Nazi regime “purified” national libraries of Jewish content and selectively “looted, destroyed, and pulped” libraries of German-occupied countries as part of their program to create a homogenized, Aryan state. Similarly, during Hussein’s six-month occupation of Kuwait in 1989-90, Iraqis destroyed 43% of the book stocks in school libraries even as they subjected the resident population to “the horrors of torture, rape, and summary execution.” The Serbs, Knuth documents, destroyed a good part of the cultural heritage of Bosnian Moslems, Croats, and Slovenes; the Chinese conducted not only the appalling Cultural Revolution, but also the near obliteration of traditional Tibetan culture. The opening three chapters of this book, which offer a theoretical framework for the libricide-genocide connection, and the conclusion, which sets Knuth’s argument in context of other genocide studies, are written in a much drier, more academic style than the five case histories. However, Knuth’s argument is powerfully drawn and deserves a wider audience than the scholarly and library professional readership for which it seems rather clearly intended. – Publishers Weekly
Argues that government-authorized book-burning often precedes or accompanies genocide, since the obliteration of a people cannot be accomplished without destroying its printed history. – C&RL News
Knuth’s study should be on every librarian’s reading list. – American Libraries
The subject matter and details presented in the case studies are both compelling on their own and skillfully presented in a narrative that is engaging and readable….Libricide is obviously an important phenomenon. – College & Research Libraries
Knuth promotes understanding of the reasons behind extremism and patterns of cultural terrorism, and concludes that what is at stake with libricide is nothing less than the preservation and continuation of the common cultural heritage of the world. Anyone committed to freedom of expression and humanistic values will embrace this passionate and valuable book. – BOKUS
Libricide: The Regime-Sponsored Destruction of Books and Libraries in the Twentieth Century
has been published in the Korean language!
Burning Books and Leveling Libraries: Extremist Violence and Cultural Destruction
Praeger – Publication Date: May 30, 2006 Whether the product of passion or of a cool-headed decision to use ideas to rationalize excess, the decimation of the world’s libraries occurred throughout the 20th century, and there is no end in sight. Cultural destruction is, therefore, of increasing concern. In her previous book Libricide, Rebecca Knuth focused on book destruction by authoritarian regimes: Nazis, Serbs in Bosnia, Iraqis in Kuwait, Maoists during the Cultural Revolution in China, and the Chinese Communists in Tibet. But authoritarian governments are not the only perpetrators. Extremists of all stripes—through terrorism, war, ethnic cleansing, genocide, and other forms of mass violence—are also responsible for widespread cultural destruction, as she demonstrates in this new book. Burning Books and Leveling Libraries is structured in three parts. Part I is devoted to struggles by extremists over voice and power at the local level, where destruction of books and libraries is employed as a tactic of political or ethnic protest. Part II discusses the aftermath of power struggles in Germany, Afghanistan, and Cambodia, where the winners were utopians who purged libraries in efforts to purify their societies and maintain power. Part III examines the fate of libraries when there is war and a resulting power vacuum. The book concludes with a discussion of the events in Iraq in 2003, and the responsibility of American war strategists for the widespread pillaging that ensued after the toppling of Saddam Hussein. This case poignantly demonstrates the ease with which an oppressed people, given the collapse of civil restraints, may claim freedom as license for anarchy, construing it as the right to prevail, while ignoring its implicit mandate of social responsibility. Using military might to enforce ideals (in this case democracy and freedom) is futile, Knuth argues, if insufficient consideration is given to humanitarian, security, and cultural concerns.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
- Understanding Modern Biblioclasm
- Tracing the Path of Extremism from Robespierre to Milosevic
PART I: GRAPPLING FOR VOICE AND POWER
- Political Protestors and Amsterdam’s South African Institute, 1984
- Ethnic Biblioclasm, 1980-2005
PART 2: ABSOLUTE POWER AND THE DRIVE TO PURIFY SOCIETY
- National Socialism and the Destruction of berlin’s Institute for Sexual Science, 1933
- Secular Fanaticism and the Auto-Genocide of Cambodia, 1975-1979
- Fundamentalism and the Destruction of Afghanistan’s Cultural Heritage, 1994-2001
PART 3: WAR, POWER VACUUM, AND ANARCHY
- Dueling Ideologies and Total War, 1939-1945
- Anarchy and Acquisitive Vandalism, 1967-2003
- Errors of Omission and Cultural Destruction in Iraq, 2003.
Reviews
Knuth has written a powerful, thought-provoking book to expand on her first book, Libricide (2003). She lays the groundwork by defining extremist behavior, destruction, and biblioclasm, in the historical and modern contexts. This book is divided into three parts. Each focuses on different aspects of power: at local levels, as part of totalitarian regimes, and as a result of grabs for power. Knuth examines the relative role of power and how biblioclasm is used as a means to gain attention, force beliefs, or hegemonize societies. The book presents in-depth analysis through a combination of actual cases, background information, and theory. Most eye-opening is the chapter on the invasion of Iraq and the irresponsible actions of the Bush administration, which resulted in the looting and destruction of centuries’ worth of cultural and historical artifacts. Each chapter has significant bibliographic citations that reflect excellent research in the author’s preparation for this book….Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. – Choice
[S]he has produced a powerful argument for ensuring that the next time the West undertakes to liberate a society from the tyranny clutches of a terror state it pays more attention to safeguarding not just people, but their culture as well. – Terrorism and Political Violence
Burning Books and Leveling Libraries is an important study for political leaders around the world, for library association officials, for political scientists, and for all persons seriously interested in the preservation of the world’s cultural, intellectual, and artistic heritage. – Journal of Information Ethics
Written in academic style, the book is a thorough look at the topic of library destruction. This book would be an excellent discussion tool for those who are concerned about intellectual freedom. This is not a read for the faint of heart. This book sounds the clarion call to protect our libraries and our books in any way we possibly can. This is a must read for all professional librarians, museum curators and cultural center directors. – Colorado Association of Libraries
Drawing persuasively from history, political science, and social theory, Knuth creates a challenging and forceful framework for understanding violence against books and libraries. Knuth balances the rigor of her scholarship and the weight of her subject matter with an engaging, accessible style, creating a work deserving the attention of any educated reader interested in intellectual freedom or political extremism. – Oklahoma Librarian
This carefully researched volume is a sobering investigation of how in one century’s time the world has lost extraordinary amounts of recorded human heritage. While it is an excellent selection for any LIS collection, its astounding breadth makes it an ideal interdisciplinary reader for political science, history and sociology collections. Strongly recommended for academic library and larger public library collections. – Journal of Access Services
[A] recommended addition for academic libraries that support LIS schools. Additionally, with its in-depth research and extensive resources this book is a good complement to history and sociology collections. – Reference & User Services Quarterly
Readers of this lucidly written, excellently organized, and passionately argued book may never be able to view libraries the same way again; libraries, the author demonstrates, are not just information portals or storehouses of ideas, but something more dangerous and often feared: they are battlefields….Knuth has so succinctly summed up dozens of biblioclasm tragedies, so neatly and agonizingly explained how politics, human psychology, and the heft of history lead to such events, that it is hard to conceive that they will not happen again. If policy makers read this book, a must for all library schools and those concerned with the fate of humankind and their culture, then we may very well be spared the repeat of such destructive tragedies. – College and Research Libraries
[A] scholarly study of nationalist, ethnic, religious, or political extremism taken to such lengths as to result in the wholesale destruction of libraries as an all-out assault upon cultural values the extremists despise. As Knuth shows, destruction of books goes hand in hand with destruction of people. Burning Books And Leveling Libraries especially focuses upon incidents of biblioclasm in the late 20th and earth 21st century…. [K]nuth reveals that using military might alone to advocate and enforce ideals is futile when humanitarian, security, and cultural concerns are ignored. Deftly researched and bitingly exact in its portrayal of extremist psychology and its terrible consequences, Burning Books And Leveling Libraries is highly recommended, as is Knuth’s previous study in the field, Libricide. – MBR: The Bookwatch
[F]or as long as libraries seem worth building and maintaining, extremists will have a good material target, even if they are thwarted by the likes of Google in their aim to erase the cultural record. – Academia
In Burning Books and Leveling Libraries: Extremist Violence and Cultural Destruction, Knuth documents how extremists of all persuasions have destroyed books and libraries. She gives examples where the destruction of books is used as a tactic of political or ethnic protest, or as a result of power struggles and war, and concludes with a discussion of the cultural destruction of Iraq in 2003. – American Libraries
Knuth has written a powerful, thought-provoking book to expand on her first book, Libricide (2003). She lays the groundwork by defining extremist behavior, destruction, and biblioclasm, in the historical and modern contexts. This book is divided into three parts. Each focuses on different aspects of power: at local levels, as part of totalitarian regimes, and as a result of grabs for power. Knuth examines the relative role of power and how biblioclasm is used as a means to gain attention, force beliefs, or hegemonize societies. The book presents in-depth analysis through a combination of actual cases, background information, and theory. Most eye-opening is the chapter on the invasion of Iraq and the irresponsible actions of the Bush administration, which resulted in the looting and destruction of centuries’ worth of cultural and historical artifacts. Each chapter has significant bibliographic citations that reflect excellent research in the author’s preparation for this book….Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. – Choice
Burning Books and Leveling Libraries is an important study for political leaders around the world, for library association officials, for political scientists, and for all persons seriously interested in the preservation of the world’s cultural, intellectual, and artistic heritage. – Journal of Information Ethics
Written in academic style, the book is a thorough look at the topic of library destruction. This book would be an excellent discussion tool for those who are concerned about intellectual freedom. This is not a read for the faint of heart. This book sounds the clarion call to protect our libraries and our books in any way we possibly can. This is a must read for all professional librarians, museum curators and cultural center directors. – Colorado Association of Libraries
Drawing persuasively from history, political science, and social theory, Knuth creates a challenging and forceful framework for understanding violence against books and libraries. Knuth balances the rigor of her scholarship and the weight of her subject matter with an engaging, accessible style, creating a work deserving the attention of any educated reader interested in intellectual freedom or political extremism. – Oklahoma Librarian
This carefully researched volume is a sobering investigation of how in one century’s time the world has lost extraordinary amounts of recorded human heritage. While it is an excellent selection for any LIS collection, its astounding breadth makes it an ideal interdisciplinary reader for political science, history and sociology collections. Strongly recommended for academic library and larger public library collections. – Journal of Access Services
[A] recommended addition for academic libraries that support LIS schools. Additionally, with its in-depth research and extensive resources this book is a good complement to history and sociology collections. – Reference & User Services Quarterly
Readers of this lucidly written, excellently organized, and passionately argued book may never be able to view libraries the same way again; libraries, the author demonstrates, are not just information portals or storehouses of ideas, but something more dangerous and often feared: they are battlefields….Knuth has so succinctly summed up dozens of biblioclasm tragedies, so neatly and agonizingly explained how politics, human psychology, and the heft of history lead to such events, that it is hard to conceive that they will not happen again. If policy makers read this book, a must for all library schools and those concerned with the fate of humankind and their culture, then we may very well be spared the repeat of such destructive tragedies. – College and Research Libraries
[A] scholarly study of nationalist, ethnic, religious, or political extremism taken to such lengths as to result in the wholesale destruction of libraries as an all-out assault upon cultural values the extremists despise. As Knuth shows, destruction of books goes hand in hand with destruction of people. Burning Books And Leveling Libraries especially focuses upon incidents of biblioclasm in the late 20th and earth 21st century…. [K]nuth reveals that using military might alone to advocate and enforce ideals is futile when humanitarian, security, and cultural concerns are ignored. Deftly researched and bitingly exact in its portrayal of extremist psychology and its terrible consequences, Burning Books And Leveling Libraries is highly recommended, as is Knuth’s previous study in the field, Libricide. – MBR: The Bookwatch
[F]or as long as libraries seem worth building and maintaining, extremists will have a good material target, even if they are thwarted by the likes of Google in their aim to erase the cultural record. – Academia
In Burning Books and Leveling Libraries: Extremist Violence and Cultural Destruction, Knuth documents how extremists of all persuasions have destroyed books and libraries. She gives examples where the destruction of books is used as a tactic of political or ethnic protest, or as a result of power struggles and war, and concludes with a discussion of the cultural destruction of Iraq in 2003. – American Libraries
Knuth reports on the destruction of libraries and books by extremists around the world during the 20th century and investigates some of the complex motivations behind these violent acts. She first looks at the use of biblioclasm as a tactic of political or ethnic protest at the local level. Next, she discusses the purging of libraries in the aftermath of power struggles in Germany, Afghanistan, and Cambodia. The final three chapters consider the fate of libraries when war creates a power vacuum–with special attention paid to the looting of Iraq’s cultural institutions in 2003. – Reference & Research Book News
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