German Children's Books and World War II

March 21, 2008 9:51 AM

Is this true, and if so where can I find information about it? German Children's Books and World War II

A friend of mine in college told me that someone had researched the children's books German leaders were most likely to have been exposed to as kids and that the books were heavily concerned with power. Does such research exist and if so, is any of it available online?

posted by drezdn to society & culture (4 comments total)

Did a quick search in JSTOR and found a review for a book that might be useful (non-electronic)

Children's Literature in Hitler's Germany: The Cultural Policy of National Socialism / Christa Kamenetsky - Ohio University Press 1984
posted by Razzle Bathbone at 10:07 AM on March 21, 2008

I am unaware of any studies that took that particular approach to explaining Nazi Germany, but as Razzle Bathbone said you may want start with Kamenetsky's book. The first chapter, "The Roots of Children's Folk Literature in Pre-Nazi Germany" provides an overview of the development of children's literature and other German writings (such as folk stories) for children in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Later chapters outline how the Nazis subverted this tradition to their own ends and used children's literature to support their agenda.

Follow this link to the WorldCat database to find a copy of this book near you.
posted by arco at 10:30 AM on March 21, 2008 [1 favorite]

If you read German this might be useful as well

Jugendliteratur im Dritten Reich : Dokumente und Kommentare / mit einem Vorwort von Klaus Doderer
posted by Razzle Bathbone at 10:38 AM on March 21, 2008

It's not clear to me if you mean - what books did Nazi leaders read when they were children or rather what books did children read in Nazi Germany. If the later, I found this research paper here on education in Kindergartens in Nazi Germany. It references some other works, so it might be a good place to start.
posted by thomas144 at 1:05 PM on March 21, 2008