PROTECTION OF YOUTH AGAINST TRASH AND FILTH, LAW FOR THE

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PROTECTION OF YOUTH AGAINST TRASH AND FILTH, LAWFOR THE (Schund- und Schmutzgesetz). Through Article 118 the WeimarConstitution* permitted special measures to regulate film* distribution, tocounter ‘‘trash and filth literature,'' and to protect youth from depraved exhibitions.Guided by Germany's churches and represented politically by the CenterParty* and the DNVP, lay groups entered into coalition in November 1924 toform the Arbeitsgemeinschaft fu¨r Volksgesundung (Alliance for NationalHealth), a lobby dedicated to German values. One of its six committees launcheda crusade against ‘‘trash and filth literature.'' But while Germans of all politicalpersuasions were alarmed by signs of rampant moral change, there was no unanimityon how to control access to ‘‘trash and filth''; indeed, definition of theterms proved contentious.A draft of the Schund- und Schmutzgesetz was placed before the Reichstag*in August 1925 by Interior Minister Wilhelm Ku¨lz,* a member of the DDP.Since the DDP opposed censorship on principle, such sponsorship signified theParty's desire to avoid a rigid bill. Requiring months of deliberation, the law ofNovember 1926 (passed on 10 December) was largely the work of GertrudBa¨umer* and Theodor Heuss,* both of the DDP. A majority of the DDP votedagainst the bill; indeed, that any Democrat supported censorship mortified mostParty members. The law prohibited distribution or sale of ‘‘indexed'' literatureto youth under age eighteen, and all governmental agencies were accountablefor removing such materials from public institutions.Although churches and related groups were disappointed with limitations imposedupon the Schund- und Schmutzgesetz, they were vigilant in seeking itsenforcement. The artistic and literary communities were nearly unanimous inopposing the measure, and the liberal press denounced it (Theodor Wolff* protestedby resigning from the DDP). Most dedicated to restraining the law'simpact was the Aktionsgemeinschaft fu¨r geistige Freiheit (Alliance for IntellectualFreedom), founded in 1928 by Alfred Do¨blin.* By the end of 1932, however,a total of 183 books and periodicals appeared on the censorship index.Historians generally maintain that the law helped prepare Germans for the infamousbook burning of 10 May 1933.