In 1936, Elvira Theodolinde Bauer, a German kindergarten teacher and would-be graphic artist, wrote and illustrated a picturebook that would eventually become a classic of anti-Semitic children’s literature. Entitled Trau keinem Fuchs auf grüner Heid und keinem Jud bei seinem Eid! [Trust neither a fox on a green heath nor a yid upon his oath!]1 (Bauer 1936), the work was published and distributed by the infamous Nazi propagandist and publisher Julius Streicher—the Führer of Franken and the producer of the incendiary anti-Semitic weekly, Der Stürmer. After providing historical background on Streicher, Bauer, and the poisonous fruit of their literary collaboration, this article examines how character names in Trau keinem Fuchs were used to plant misinformation about and sow hatred against Jewish people living in the Reich. As this article also shows, by utilizing the names of real-life victims of Fascism, Bauer’s fairy tales effectively blurred the line between fact and fiction for adult and child readers alike. The article ends with a discussion of the urgent need for more research into the ways hate groups, past and present, use names to indoctrinate new members, both great and small.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.