Censorship in Germany
has taken on many forms throughout the history of Germany. Various regimes have restricted the press, cinema, literature, and other entertainment venues. In contemporary Germany, the Grundgesetz generally guarantees freedom of press, speech, and opinion.
Today, censorship is mainly exerted in the form of restriction of access to certain media to older adolescents or adults.
Furthermore, the publication of works violating the rights of the individual or those considered to be capable of inciting popular hatred may be prohibited. Possession of such works, however, is generally not punishable.
In recent years, public debate has intensified around political expression concerning the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Critics argue that Germany’s Staatsräson — the reason of state asserting a special responsibility toward Israel — has been used to justify restrictions on pro-Palestinian speech, activism, and academic expression, including by Jewish individuals critical of Israeli government policies.
As of 2024, Germany is ranked 10th on the Press Freedom Index.
Before 1871
Most of the various smaller German states that later became the modern nation-state of Germany had censorship laws that severely restricted press freedom and made criticism of the government difficult or impossible. In large measure these were a result of the 1819 Carlsbad Decrees which, inter alia, expanded the censorship of the press. Censorship was enforced through the requirement to have a government license to publish books or newspapers, and the mandatory use of an impressum on printed material to identify authors and publishers. However, the city-republics such as Frankfurt and Hamburg tended to have a free press, a rarity in 19th century Germany. The Prussian invasion, occupation and annexation of Frankfurt was in large part motivated by the Prussian government's irritation with the Frankfurt free press; unlike Frankfurt, Prussia had severe censorship laws.German Empire (1871–1918)
In the German Empire, many forms of media were under imperial control. Before World War I, the government appointed civil administrators and bureaucrats who were in charge of 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 when printing began and could prosecute editors for the content featured in their works. Most often, editors were imprisoned for the publication of material which insulted the monarch. At this point, theatres, cinemas, cabarets, and music halls were still subject to state licensing. Police had direct control over these venues.
Although overall restrictions on film were not codified into law at this time, movies were monitored and regulated. However, this process was subjective and varied case-by-case and locality by locality. The local government cut and banned any material deemed to be against their best interests. Universal state regulation across the entire Empire began in 1906 when several local police forces formed a collective task force to ban films involving Hennig, a German murderer and fugitive, escaped arrest and embarrassed the police force. Officials hoping to contain news of his escape banned the film. In May 1906, government officials passed a police ordinance requiring that every film shown in Berlin must be examined by the police before it could be presented to public audiences. However, as the number of films and productions increased, it became difficult for police to regulate every work. As such, they attended screenings randomly to check for legal and moral compliance.
Although the state censorship authorities deployed officers all over the Empire, some localities set up their own field offices. The first of these field offices were established in 1912 in the cities of Munich and Stuttgart. These offices often created their own additional compliance requirements, but all films remained subject to the standards established by the state.
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 appointed 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. Newspapers could be suspended for days at a time as punishment for the publication of "inappropriate material".
Weimar Republic (1918–1933)
Article 118 of the Weimar constitution banned censorship, but excepted film, indecent and obscene literature, and measures at public events to protect youth. Article 48 allowed the President to suspend this guarantee in order to restore public safety and order, with veto power over such actions given to the Reichstag.An exception to this article was film. The film 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 of 18 December 1926 provided for the partial censorship 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. However, the goal of this regulation was to restrict content that could ruin the youth intellectually, morally, and physically. Such "harmful" content included dime novels, serialized books, and dramatic pamphlets.
The Weimar Republic maintained a number of criminal provisions for hate crimes and anti-Semitic expression. In response to violent political agitators such as the Nazis, authorities censored advocacy of violence; Emergency decrees were issued giving the power to censor newspapers, and Nazi newspapers were forced to suspend publication hundreds of times. Hitler was prevented from speaking in several German states, and leading Nazis such as Goebbels were sentenced to jail time in libel cases.
Nazi Germany (1933–1945)
Shortly after Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1933, he established the Ministry of Propaganda with the goal that this agency would control all forms of mass communication in Germany. At its peak of influence, the Ministry employed 1,500 employees spanning 17 departments. Censorship policy was produced and implemented by the Reich Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels. As such, Goebbels oversaw the publication of all media that was to be widely distributed — literature, music, newspapers, and public events. Any material that threatened the reputation of Hitler's government or spoke ill of the regime was immediately censored and retracted. Additionally, books that were already in circulation and written by Jewish authors were collected and burned. Nazi bureaucrats saw their work and information control as necessary. It was, in their minds their duty to protect the German public from the harms of "undesirable books".The control of information among young people was especially vital to the German government. On May 10, 1933, shortly after the Nazis rose to power, the government burned one-third of the total library holdings in Germany. As soldiers burned at least 25,000 books in the center of Berlin, Goebbels spoke of the evils of literature and encouraged massive crowds to say “No to decadence and moral corruption!”. This event began a widespread effort to illustrate government control and align public opinion with party ideology.
The aim of censorship under the Nazi regime was simple: to reinforce Nazi power and to suppress opposing viewpoints and information.
Divided Germany
East Germany (1945–1990)
According to the Constitution of the German Democratic Republic, censorship of any kind was forbidden. However, the government of the GDR took measures to ensure that all publications were in line with their ideological grounding.The Office of Head Administration for Publishing and Book Trade was tasked with regulating all material published within the GDR. The office aimed to produce material that was both politically correct and a reflection of communist values; however, the office was often advertised to the public as "a means for improving the quality of literature". Most division chiefs were literary figures with a history of party loyalty; oftentimes a former head of a publishing house or an author filled the role. In order to have material published and printed, an author or publisher had to submit the work to the Office and acquire a permit. Writers typically experienced a processing time of one to two months. Refusal to publish was not uncommon; a team of six typically rejected 250 manuscripts each year after receiving around 600. Approved books were published and around 10,000 copies of each book entered circulation.
Other types of art were also highly regulated. Permission was required to exhibit or perform any visual art. In addition, journalists without government approval were not hired.
The primary goal of East German censorship – whether it be to regulate books, films, or other forms of art – was to protect the interests of communism and its implementation. Works critical of the East German or Soviet governments were forbidden, as were any works which seemed sympathetic to fascism.
Around 1989, as the people of East Germany grew more and more displeased with the state of the country, the rejection of material that celebrated West Germany heightened. Thousands of East Germans were fleeing west and the demand for West German materials – films, books, and magazines – was on the rise. As a result, the literature market for East German publications suffered. Books sat undistributed in Office warehouses as the demand for material was nearly nonexistent.