In a follow-up to last week’s look at the history of the library, a companion post: the role of books in both shaping conflict and being shaped by conflict (the very appropriate subtitle of the book).

We tend not to talk about books and war in the same breath – one ranks among humanity’s greatest inventions, the other among its most terrible. But as esteemed literary historian Andrew Pettegree demonstrates, the two are deeply intertwined. 

The Book at War explores the various roles that books have played in conflicts throughout the globe. Winston Churchill used a travel guide to plan the invasion of Norway, lonely families turned to libraries while their loved ones were fighting in the trenches, and during the Cold War both sides used books to spread their visions of how the world should be run. As solace or instruction manual, as critique or propaganda, books have shaped modern military history – for both good and ill. 

With precise historical analysis and sparkling prose, The Book at War accounts for the power – and the ambivalence – of words at war.

In May 1933, news of widespread book burnings orchestrated by the Nazis in Germany triggered a swift and impassioned response in the United States. Almost 200,000 people took to the streets in cities across the country to protest this censorship. Authors, some of whose works had been burned, strongly condemned the actions. President Franklin D. Roosevelt incorporated the imagery of the smoldering pyres into his speeches, emphasizing the importance of preserving freedom and civil liberties.

Nearly a century later, book burnings during the Nazi era remain a powerful symbol, partly due to their impact at the time. Many Americans saw them as emblematic of the German regime, serving as a forewarning of future atrocities. However, Andrew Pettegree’s extensive cultural history, The Book at War: How Reading Shaped Conflict and Conflict Shaped Reading, reveals a surprising twist. Less than two decades before the Nazi book burnings, during periods of wartime chauvinism, Americans themselves fervently burned German books, with librarians leading the way.

Pettegree, a professor of modern history at Scotland’s University of St Andrews, delves into the intricate relationship between printed media, books, and war. He argues that books have played a crucial role in conditioning readers to expect and support conflicts, serving as carriers of ideology and spoils for victors. Yet, they have also provided solace and solidarity during times of combat, offering comfort to civilians in hiding and soldiers on the front lines.

While Pettegree’s depth of knowledge and skillful storytelling are evident throughout, he reaches a high-water mark when detailing the literary toll of war, providing acute actuarial insights into the destruction of books during World War II. The loss of over 500 million books in Europe, including the ransacking of Jewish libraries and the devastation in Poland, underscores the profound impact on cultural heritage.

A fascinating thread weaves through what Pettegree calls “warrior authors” – the great leaders of the world powers who found themselves in opposition not only on the battlefield, but also on the written page. Here are a few examples:

• Winston Churchill – Writing was in his blood; his first autobiography “My Early Life” was from his adventures in India and Africa during Britain’s various wars in the region. Prior to his ascendancy to become Prime Minister, writing and journalism kept him ahead of his mounting debts. After WWII, he would win the Nobel Prize for Literature, for his oratory and historical writing.
• Adolf Hitler – The most notorious text of the twentieth century, “Mein Kampf” laid out in remarkable detail his program for Germany and the fate that awaited its enemies. He was also a discerning reader and collector, particularly of architectural and history books, appropriated by American soldiers in 1945 and now in the Library of Congress.
• Joseph Stalin – Belying his reputation as crude and uneducated, he was a deeply literate and thoughtful reader and lover of books. His carefully curated library of over 15,000 volumes carried over into his involvement with some of the major writing projects of the Soviet state, influencing a war of ideas in Communist countries around the world.
• Charles de Gaulle – A lonely symbol of French defiance during most of WWII, he first came to prominence as an author of aa widely admired text on armored warfare that crossed international boundaries and was quickly translated into both German and Russian.

The Book at War not only examines the destructive power of war on literature but also highlights how books have provided comfort to individuals enduring conflict. The accounts of Allied soldiers receiving cartons of paperbacks after storming Normandy’s beaches and Anne Frank finding solace in books while hiding from the Germans in Amsterdam are particularly poignant. These stories prompt reflection on how books continue to influence those facing conflict today.

On a personal note, my father was a WWII veteran who loved to read. Much later in life – his early 80s – he shared with me both stories and a few books that he had saved from his time in service. In addition, he had a highly curated selection of books by and about some of the great leaders of that generation, particularly Dwight Eisenhower. Upon is passing, I was fortunate to bring several of those into my personal library.

Part of a regular series on 27gen, entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader.

During my elementary school years one of the things I looked forward to the most was the delivery of “My Weekly Reader,” a weekly educational magazine designed for children and containing news-based, current events.

It became a regular part of my love for reading, and helped develop my curiosity about the world around us.