For those of you who are interested in lettering and typefaces, I am posting a copy of the original Bormann letter on the decree from Hitler, which in effect outlawed the use of Gothic typefacing for printed material as of January 1941. The reasoning behind the change to 'Antiqua' ie. 'Roman' or 'Latin' text is a rather tenuous link to the 'Schwabacher' type Gothic script allegedly being of Jewish origin, which he justifies by claiming that the Jews originally owned the printing presses of Germany. This, of course, is a very simplistic way in which to view the development of Germanic lettering. Gothic text originally evolved through Medieval (Christian) scribes as a space saving style, which went on to develop different characteristics throughout Europe. The 'Schwabacher' text referred to by Bormann was actually a style which evolved in the area of Mainz, which always did have quite a strong Jewish community, so it is possible that the Nazis, in their misguided pedantry, have decided that this is enough to proscribe all similar fonts. Another fact that has apparently been deemed irrelevant in the justification of this decree, is that Johannes Gutenburg, who is credited with the invention of the printing press, was born into a family house that was "liberated" from a Jewish family in a pogrom similar to those which were repeated by the Nazis half a century later.
The seemingly ubiquitous use of Gothic lettering had already been somewhat on the wane in Germany at the start of the 20th. Century until the rise of the Nazi Party, when many more modernised variations started to appear. Interestingly, these newer Gothic styles where collectively known as "Schaftstiefel Grotesk" which can be translated nowadays as "Jackboot Helvetica". The turnaround back to the use of 'Roman' typeface was , like so many other policies of the Third Reich, basically blamed on the Jews, when in fact the logic behind the reversal of opinion probably had more to do with communication barriers which appeared in the newly occupied territories.
I presume that a similar decree was issued with regard to 'Sütterlin' Script, or 'Kurrent' as it was originally known before Ludwig Sütterlin simplified and standardised it for the use in Prussian schools in 1915, but I have as yet to come accross it.
Anyway, I could ramble on all night about lettering, so here is the Bormann letter of which I have also provided an English translation...
The seemingly ubiquitous use of Gothic lettering had already been somewhat on the wane in Germany at the start of the 20th. Century until the rise of the Nazi Party, when many more modernised variations started to appear. Interestingly, these newer Gothic styles where collectively known as "Schaftstiefel Grotesk" which can be translated nowadays as "Jackboot Helvetica". The turnaround back to the use of 'Roman' typeface was , like so many other policies of the Third Reich, basically blamed on the Jews, when in fact the logic behind the reversal of opinion probably had more to do with communication barriers which appeared in the newly occupied territories.
I presume that a similar decree was issued with regard to 'Sütterlin' Script, or 'Kurrent' as it was originally known before Ludwig Sütterlin simplified and standardised it for the use in Prussian schools in 1915, but I have as yet to come accross it.
Anyway, I could ramble on all night about lettering, so here is the Bormann letter of which I have also provided an English translation...
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