Germany has taken many forms throughout the history of censorship in the country. Various regimes have restricted the press, cinema, literature, and other entertainment venues. In contemporary Germany, the Grundgesetz (Basic Law) generally guarantees freedom of press, speech, and opinion.
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.
Furthermore, the publication of works violating the rights of the individual or those considered to be capable of inciting popular hatred (Volksverhetzung) may be prohibited. Possession of such works (including Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf), however, is generally not punishable. As of 2022, Germany is ranked 22nd on the Press Freedom Index.
Before 1871
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. In large measure these were a result of the 1819 Carlsbad Decrees which, inter alia, expanded the censorship of the press. Censorship was enforced through the requirement to have a government license to publish books or newspapers, and the mandatory use of an impressum on printed material to identify authors and publishers. However, the city-republics such as Frankfurt and Hamburg tended to have a free press, a rarity in 19th century Germany. The Prussian invasion, occupation and annexation of Frankfurt was in large part motivated by the Prussian government's irritation with the Frankfurt free press; unlike Frankfurt, Prussia had severe censorship laws.
German Empire (1871–1918)
In the German Empire, many forms of media were under imperial control. 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.
The Imperial Press Law of 1874 ended the government's right to censor materials before publishing. It also eliminated the need for a government-issued license to publish. However, the government retained the right to be notified of all publications when printing began and could prosecute editors for the content featured in their works. Most often, editors were imprisoned for the publication of material which insulted the monarch. At this point, theatres, cinemas, cabarets, and music halls were still subject to state licensing. Police had direct control over these venues.
Although overall restrictions on film were not codified into law at this time, movies were monitored and regulated. However, this process was subjective and varied case-by-case and locality by locality. The local government cut and banned any material deemed to be against their best interests. Universal state regulation across the entire Empire began in 1906 when several local police forces formed a collective task force to ban films involving Hennig, a German murderer and fugitive, escaped arrest and embarrassed the police force. Officials hoping to contain news of his escape banned the film. In May 1906, government officials passed a police ordinance requiring that every film shown in Berlin must be examined by the police before it could be presented to public audiences. However, as the number of films and productions increased, it became difficult for police to regulate every work. As such, they attended screenings randomly to check for legal and moral compliance.
Although the state censorship authorities deployed officers all over the Empire, some localities set up their own field offices. The first of these field offices were established in 1912 in the cities of Munich and Stuttgart. These offices often created their own additional compliance requirements, but all films remained subject to the standards established by the state.
With the outbreak of World War I, the military took over the censorship office with the aim of mobilizing German support for the war. A police official was appointed in every city for this purpose. Restrictions on materials became much harsher. Materials could be banned because of association with a particular person or country, or simply because the censor felt that the piece was distracting or a waste of time. Newspapers could be suspended for days at a time as punishment for the publication of "inappropriate material".
Weimar Republic (1918–1933)