What is harmful and what is harmless is quite an ambiguous topic. While the Regime decided to burn all the books (that were considered harmful/ contained preaching against the Nazi government) in Germany, the writers all over the world were taken aback at such savage act. Though it was nothing compared to what happened in Auschwitz, but it shook the entire world.
All the books were brought and burned and it looked as the human bodies were brought and put to fire the only difference that books couldn’t shout and get the attention of other beings. Little after this incident, the poet came to know that his books have not been burnt, at this he felt highly offended. He took a pen and wrote to the authorities to burn him (here poet meant to burn the books and not him as all his books contained his pure feelings and emotions and likely were his own image). See poet’s ideology here, though any writer would have been more than happy to know that his writings have been spared, this writer is not only put off at the thought but he appeals to the authorities to burn his works. This one sentence of the poem summarizes the whole idea, keeping which in mind poet writes this poem.
The letter written on the wing of wrath is the symbolic of his loyalty towards his nation and people.
He asks the Nazi Empire, if his books never spoke truth since they were spared from burning. Towards the ned, Bertolt commands Nazis to burn his books.
See the difference, in the two stages, at the beginning Regime commands to burn the books and at the end poet himself commands the Regime to burn his books. but there is a lot of difference between the two commands, the command given by Regime had power and authority involved while the command made by poet is kind of simple and emotional expression of one’s feelings.
However, the poet doesn’t seem to act sensible at all. The way he writes the authorities, and the terms that he uses “on wings of wrath” and “he wrote with flying pen” mirrors his emotional vulnerability along with unwise decision making.
Though poem speaks of the confrontation between the poet and Regime, it’s more of a monologue. Wherein the poet is confronting his own self by writing this poem trying to prove to people around that though his books haven’t been burnt he is not liar and always supported truth.