Banned in Berlin

<p> Imperial Germany's governing elite frequently sought to censor literature that threatened established political social religious and moral norms in the name of public peace order and security. It claimed and exercised a prerogative to intervene in literary life that was broader than that of its Western neighbors but still not broad enough to prevent the literary community from challenging and subverting many of the social norms the state was most determined to defend. This study is the first systematic analysis in any language of state censorship of literature and theater in imperial Germany (1871-1918). To assess the role that formal state controls played in German literary and political life during this period it examines the intent function contested legal basis institutions and everyday operations of literary censorship as well as its effectiveness and its impact on authors publishers and theater directors.</p>