Figure 1.--We have little information on German children's literature at this time. We do note an image of Belgian children in the early 20th century reading illustrated children's books. Some of these early books for younger children were not bound pages, but rather thick pages that opened up in a chain fashion althought they folded together in book form. This portrait is undated. This image is undated, we would guess it was taken about 1910. All we knowabout the image that it was taken in Hannover. Image coutesy of the MD collection.

We have little information on German children's literature at this time. We do note images of younger German children in the early 20th century reading illustrated children's books. Some of these early books for younger children were not bound pages, but rather thick pages that opened up in a chain fashion althought they folded together in book form. We have seen similar books in Germany and other countries. At this time we only have some limited information about Germany text books and children's books during the NAZI Third Reich era. We are not familiar with publications like the Boys' Own Paper in Germany or annuals. Our information, however, is very limited. Hopefully our German readers will provide some additional information so we can build a more ballanced few of German's children's literature. Readers may also want to look at the page on NAZI book buring. Children's books were also burned. One of the authors who had his books burned was Felix Salten who wrote the children's book "Bambi" that became a favorite Walt Disney movie.

Types

We have little information on German children's literature at this time. We have little information on either fiction or non-fiction children's books in Germany. Certainly the best known books are the Grimm Brothers story books with fairy tales published in the 19th century. Heinrich Hoffmann (1809-1894) wrote illustrated verses for "Struwwelpeter" in 1844. We do note images of younger German children in the early 20th century reading illustrated children's books. Some of these early books for younger children were not bound pages, but rather thick pages that opened up in a chain fashion althought they folded together in book form. I am not sure what these books were called. These books were primarily picture books for children who could not yet read or who were just beginning to read. Many were beaurifully illustrated. We have seen similar books in Belgium and other countries. We are not familiar with publications like the Boys' Own Paper in Germany or annuals. Our information, however, is very limited. Hopefully our German readers will provide some additional information so we can build a more ballanced few of German's children's literature.

Authors

Quite a number of German authors wrote generally short shories for children during the 18th and 19th centuries. The most famous of course were the Grimm Brothers fairy tales. Other German authors, however, are virtually unknown to English speakers. With the exception of course of Johanna Spyri (1827-1901) who wrote Heidi which was and continues to be enormously popular with girls in America and other countries. Several of our German readers have very strong memories of these authors. Not all of these authors have held up well over the years. Some continue to be published in Germany while others because of the violence in the stories or moral message conveyed have fallen out of fashion. An example here is Heinrich Hoffmann's "Struwwelpeter" which he wrote in 1844.

Chronologies

At this time we only have some limited information about Germany text books and children's books during the NAZI Third Reich era. Readers may also want to look at the page on NAZI book buring. Children's books were also burned. One of the authors who had his books burned was Felix Salten who wrote "Bambi". I remember as a small child being horrified by the fire in the forest that was depicted in the Disney film. Of course I did not know that the author's books were actually birned in Germany nor would I have indrstood why.

Illustrators

We know of very few German illustrators at this time. This is primarily because we have little information on German children's literature. We are hoping that our German readers will eventually provide some details for us here. The illustrators we know of were not noted for illustrating childrens books. We have noted one very impressive and prolific German illustrator--C.W. Allers. He was active at the turn of the century. Unfortunately we have little information about him at this time. His illustrations cover a wide range of topics, but we note that the drew clothing and hair styles in meticulous detail. Another famous German illustrator was the inventor of the comic strip, Wilhelm Busch (1832-1908), the creator of Max and Moritz, a story every German-speaking person knows.

Sources

Godwin-Jones, Robert. "19th-Century German Stories, 1999. (Web editions for language learning & literary study). Many 19th century German texts are piosted here.

Wellershaus, Stefan. Letter May 14, 2002.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries] [Girls]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [German glossary] [Satellite sites] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Created: February 26, 2003
Last updated: February 26, 2003