On May 10, 1933, the first large-scale book burning program was held across Nazi Germany

On May 10, 1933, the first large-scale book burning program was held across Nazi Germany. Bebelplatz in Berlin was the epicenter of this brutal program, where hundreds of thousands of books were publicly burned. On this very day, the Nazis set fire to the library of the "Institute for Sexual Science". The institution was founded by Jewish physician Magnus Hirschfeld, who was a pioneer of the gay and transgender rights movement.

This institution is remembered in history as a pioneer of modern gender affirmation surgery — where in 1922, a trans woman named Dora Richter underwent the first successful surgery. The institution and its collection were forcibly occupied and destroyed by the Nazis on May 6. On May 10, about 40,000 people gathered at Bebelplatz to listen to the speech of Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. There he declared: "No to decadence and moral corruption!"—with this slogan.

On this day, book burnings took place not only in Berlin, but also in 34 university towns across Germany. Thousands of books were burned, including the works of Jewish writers such as Albert Einstein, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freud. At the same time, the writings of socialist authors Jack London, Ernest Hemingway, and Helen Keller, along with many progressive thinkers, were burned. This event was one of the most horrific attacks carried out against the cultural purge and freedom of expression of the Nazi regime.

It is still remembered in history as a black day.