Whose Stories Get Told? The Cost of Banning Books
From the Desk of Emily S. Hager, Director of Programming & Education
Launched in 1982, Banned Books Week responds to the surge of books challenged in libraries, bookstores, and schools. Held in the last week of September or the first week of October, Banned Books Week highlights the value of free and open access to information. A coalition of organizations dedicated to free expression supports this initiative. This year’s theme is “Let Books Be — Protect the Freedom to Read.”
The history of banning books is thousands of years old, and sadly, the trend continues into the 21st Century.
In 8 CE, Roman Emperor Augustus exiled and banned the writings of Ovid, the author of Metamorphoses. This 15-book magnum opus chronicles world history by including over 250 ancient Greek and Roman mythological stories. His writings influenced some of the most famous authors, such as Shakespeare and Dante Alighieri. Scholars still debate why Ovid was exiled and why the emperor banned his writings. Ovid cited only two reasons: “carmen et error,” a poem and a mistake. Over 2,000 years later, in 2017, the Italian government finally formally revoked Ovid’s banishment from Italy. The council cited that the gesture was symbolic, and “it is about the fundamental right of artists to express themselves freely in societies in which… the freedom of artistic expression is increasingly constrained.”
During the Holocaust, book bans and censorship started just three and a half months after Hitler came into power. Pro-Nazi university students organized and determined tens of thousands of books as “un-German” and held rallies to burn the books with thousands of participants. Naturally, literature selected included Jewish authors, people of different political movements (particularly Socialist and Communist), and scientific literature regarding sexology, gender, and advocacy of homosexual and transgender rights.
Today, books are being banned or challenged for remarkably similar topics. Items such as LGBTQIA+ characters or themes; topics of race, equity, and social justice; or understanding sex education are among the top reasons that books are being banned or challenged across the country today.
Horrifically, books that are staples in Holocaust education have also been challenged or banned in classrooms and libraries across the United States. In 2023, a school library in Florida removed the graphic novel adaptation of Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl. In addition to Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation, the diary itself has also been questioned. A school district in Colorado put the Diary of a Young Girl on a “Sensitive Topics Book List,” where, if a student borrows the book from their school library, their parent/guardian is notified via email. Further, the parent can opt out of their child being able to check out books that have certain topics, such as religious viewpoints, racism/discrimination, or obscenity. Anne Frank is listed for “sexual content,” and Elie Wiesel’s books Night, Dawn, and Day are listed for “graphic violence.” The school district has since been sued by the ACLU and been ordered to refrain from further attempts.
The Jewish value of limmud, or learning, is a lifelong pursuit. Schoolchildren especially need every possible opportunity to learn. With the help of local survivors and educators, we teach the Holocaust not as a closed chapter, but as a way of understanding what happens when antisemitism and identity-based hatred go unchecked. Book banning is one tool that is being weaponized to limit understanding and compassion for all.
At TJMHC, we abhor all acts meant to suppress, censor, or sanitize books, literature, and history.
To learn more about Banned Books Week, visit their website, the American Library Association webpage on banned books, or join Let Freedom Read Day.