extirpate
verb
To destroy or remove something completely.
We put our full effort into extirpating criminal activity.
Jugend ohne Gott*
by Ödön von Horváth
I've never forgotten this book; it had a profound effect on me at German A Level and I want to re-read it (in translation this time: *Youth Without God).
Written in 1937, the story charts a teacher's struggles with his own conscience, but ultimately his commitment to the truth, at a time when his pupils are being indoctrinated by the Nazis.
