[1] Today, censorship is mainly exerted in the form of restriction of access to certain media (examples include motion pictures and video games) to older adolescents or adults, as well as perceived online fake news, hate speech and misinformation.
[2] Most of the various smaller German states that later became the modern nation-state of Germany had censorship laws that severely restricted press freedom and made criticism of the government difficult or impossible.
Before World War I, the government appointed civil administrators and bureaucrats who were in charge of ensuring the public decency of printed material within the Empire.
[11] Article 118 of the Weimar constitution banned censorship,[12] but excepted film, indecent and obscene literature, and measures at public events to protect youth.
Furthermore, it incorporated limits to what could be censored and on what grounds; printed materials could not be added to the index for political, social, religious, ethical, or world-view-related reasons.
Hitler was prevented from speaking in several German states, and leading Nazis such Goebbels were sentenced to jail time in libel cases.
[17] Shortly after Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1933, he established the Ministry of Propaganda with the goal that this agency would control all forms of mass communication in Germany.
[22] As soldiers burned at least 25,000 books in the center of Berlin, Goebbels spoke of the evils of literature and encouraged massive crowds to say “No to decadence and moral corruption!”.
[26] Most division chiefs were literary figures with a history of party loyalty; oftentimes a former head of a publishing house or an author filled the role.
[28] The primary goal of East German censorship – whether it be to regulate books, films, or other forms of art – was to protect the interests of communism and its implementation.
In the immediate aftermath of World War II, the West German media was subject to censorship by the forces of the Allied occupation.
[30] The most celebrated characteristic of acceptable publications was party loyalty; West German Government officials repressed any content that did not allude to political support and nationalism.
[34][full citation needed] Government officials worked to prevent individuals under the age of eighteen from being exposed to content considered immoral, dangerous, or inappropriate.
[34] Officials took it upon themselves to rid young West Germans of content which featured expletives, sexual interactions, excessive affection, war, or substance use.
The new German constitution from 1949 guaranteed freedom of press, speech, and opinion; the government continued to fight "anti-constitutional" activities, especially communist subversion during the Cold War.
Publications violating laws (e.g., promoting Volksverhetzung or slander and libel) can be censored in today's Germany, with authors and publishers potentially subject to penalties.
Strafgesetzbuch section 86a forms a relatively strict prohibition on the public display of "symbols of unconstitutional organizations" outside the context of "art or science, research or teaching".
Methods to avoid inclusion on the list include the reduction of violent scenes in movies and the removal of Nazi symbols in games in cases of propaganda.
The German Jugendschutzgesetz (Youth Protection Act) of 2003 made the former advisory-only label a de facto requirement; only products controlled by such a body may be publicly displayed for sale, with further restrictions applying to such media considered to be "18+".
[44] "The Russian attack on Ukraine is a crime and whoever publicly approves of this war can thereby become criminally liable," said Marek Wede, a spokesperson for Germany's Interior Ministry.
[45] Critics of this policy note that banning the public display of the letter "Z" does not assist Ukraine and that it may embolden supporters of Russia who already claim to feel victimized.
[53] However, this policy has been criticized by other politicians as being a blanket ban on legitimate Palestinian symbols and in their view, might not be legal under German constitutional law.
German artists, cultural workers, and scientists will be censored or will self-censor out of fear of losing financial support or being labeled as antisemitic.
"[62] In November 2024, photographer Nan Goldin alleged censorship of her Berlin exhibition, claiming the Neue Nationalgalerie refused a slide expressing solidarity with Palestinian, Lebanese, and Israeli conflict victims.
The incident sparked debate about artistic freedom and political expression in German cultural institutions, highlighting tensions between protecting against antisemitism and preserving free speech.
[63] In 2002, there was a legal controversy regarding the Power for Living campaign by the Christian Arthur S. DeMoss Foundation featuring celebrities Cliff Richard and Bernhard Langer.