The Twelve Theses were issued in early April 1933 by Press and Propaganda Section of the German Student Association and called for German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 students to purge German language

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 and literature

German literature

German literature comprises those literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German part of Switzerland, and to a lesser extent works of the German diaspora. German literature of the modern period is mostly in Standard German, but there...

 of Jewish influence and to restore those aspects of German culture

Culture

Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...

 to their "pure" volkische traditions. The theses were posted on university campuses throughout Germany prior to the May 1933 book burnings

Nazi book burnings

The Nazi book burnings were a campaign conducted by the authorities of Nazi Germany to ceremonially burn all books in Germany which did not correspond with Nazi ideology.-The book-burning campaign:...

.

Text of the Theses

The English text of the theses

Thesis

A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...

 (as those are posted to the right) reads as follows:

The Twelve Theses
German text	English translation
Wider den undeutschen Geist! 1. Sprache und Schrifttum wurzeln im Volke. Das deutsche Volk trägt die Verantwortung dafür, daß sein Schrifttum reiner und unverfälschter Ausdruck seines Volkstums sind. 2. Es klafft heute ein Widerspruch zwischen Schrifttum und deutschem Volkstum. Dieser Zustand ist eine Schmach. 3. Reinheit von Sprache und Schrifttum liegt an Dir! Dein Volk hat Dir die Sprache zur treuen Bewahrung übergeben. 4. Unser gefährlichster Widerfacher ist der Jude, und der, der ihm hörig ist. 5. Der Jude kann nur jüdisch denken. Schreibt er deutsch, dann lügt er. Der Deutsche, der deutsch schreibt, aber undeutsch denkt, ist ein Verräter! Der Student, der undeutsch spricht und schreibt, ist außerdem gedankenlos und wird seiner Aufgabe untreu. 6. Wir wollen die Lüge ausmerzen, wir wollen den Verrat brandmarken, wir wollen für den Studenten nicht Stätten der Gedankenlosigkeit, sondern der Zucht und der politischen Erziehung. 7. Wir wollen den Juden als Fremdling achten, und wir wollen das Volkstum ernst nehmen. Wir fordern deshalb von der Zensur: Jüdische Werke erscheinen in hebräischer Sprache. Erscheinen sie in Deutsch, sind sie als Uebersetzung zu kennzeichnen. Schärfstes Einschreiten gegen den Mißbrauch der deutschen Schrift. Deutsche Schrift steht nur Deutschen zur Verfügung. Der undeutsche Geist wird aus öffentlichen Büchereien ausgemerzt. 8. Wir fordern vom deutschen Studenten Wille und Fähigkeit zur selbständigen Erkenntnis und Entscheidung. 9. Wir fordern vom deutschen Studenten den Willen und die Fähigkeit zur Reinerhaltung der deutschen Sprache. 10. Wir fordern vom deutschen Studenten den Willen und die Fähigkeit zur Ueberwindung des jüdischen Intellektualismus und der damit verbundenen liberalen Verfallserscheinungen im deutschen Geistesleben. 11. Wir fordern die Auslese von Studenten und Professoren nach der Sicherheit des Denkens im deutschen Geiste. 12. Wir fordern die deutsche Hochschule als Hort des deutschen Volkstums und als Kampfstätte aus der Kraft des deutschen Geistes. Die Deutsche Studentenschaft.	Against the un-German spirit! 1. Language and literature have their roots in the Folk. It is the German Folk's responsibility to assure that its language and literature are the pure and unadulterated expression of its Folk traditions. 2. At present there is a chasm between literature and German tradition. This situation is a disgrace. 3. Purity of language and literature is your responsibility! Your Folk has entrusted you with the duty of faithfully preserving your language. 4. Our most dangerous enemy is the Jew and those who are his slaves. 5. A Jew can only think Jewish. If he writes in German, he is lying. The German who writes in German, but thinks un-German, is a traitor! The student who speaks and writes un-German is, in addition, thoughtless and has abandoned his duties. 6. We want to eradicate lies, we want to denounce treason, we want institutions of discipline and political education for us the students, not mindlessness. 7. We want to regard the Jew as alien and we want to respect the traditions of the Folk. Therefore, we demand of the censor: Jewish writings are to be published in Hebrew. If they appear in German, they must be identified as translations. Strongest actions against the abuse of the German script Fraktur Fraktur is a calligraphic hand and any of several blackletter typefaces derived from this hand. The word derives from the past participle fractus of Latin frangere... . German script is only available to Germans. The un-German spirit is to be eradicated from public libraries. 8. We demand of the German students the desire and capability for independent knowledge Knowledge Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...  and decisions. 9. We demand of German students the desire and capability to maintain the purity of the German language. 10. We demand of German students the desire and capability to overcome Jewish intellectualism Intellectualism Intellectualism denotes the use and development of the intellect, the practice of being an intellectual, and of holding intellectual pursuits in great regard. Moreover, in philosophy, “intellectualism” occasionally is synonymous with “rationalism”, i.e. knowledge derived mostly from reason and...  and the resulting liberal Liberalism Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...  decay in the German spirit. 11. We demand the selection of students and professors in accordance with their reliability and commitment to the German spirit. 12. We demand that German universities be a stronghold of the German Folk tradition and a battleground reflecting the power of the German mind. The German Student Association.

Observations on the Twelve Theses

1. While the theses targeted the "Jewish spirit" (jüdischer Geist) and books expressing this, it also attacked concepts that were "un-German" (undeutsch). It is not clear from the theses themselves whether this term is intended to be synonymous with Jewishness.
2. The theses do not themselves expressly call for book burning.
3. Thesis 1 expressly implies that there should be no foreign literature in Germany, entailing a complete ban of all non-German literature, at least on works translated into German.
4. Theses 11 and 12 would reserve German universities exclusively to German students and professors, devoid of foreign elements.