Bidspirit auction | “Yedid HaYeladim” - a collection

“Yedid HaYeladim” - a collection of children’s issues of the Social Democratic Party bulletin - early messages against Nazism - issues from the year 1931 - A complete annual volume of issues of Der Kinderfreund - Erscheint vierzehntäglich - “Yedid HaYeladim, published once every two weeks”. Printed at the famous Vorwärts (Forverts) printing house - the Social Democratic Party bulletin with early messages against Nazism. Berlin, 1931. Issues 1–26 consecutively bound (all issues of the year 1931). German. This is a historical publication that served as a central educational and cultural tool for children in Germany during the Weimar Republic period, just before the rise of the Nazis to power. The journal was not merely an innocent “children’s newspaper, ” but rather a supplement to the Social Democratic (SPD) daily press in Germany. It was published by the Reichsarbeitsgemeinschaft der Kinderfreunde (“Children’s Friends” Association), an organization that educated toward values of socialism, democracy, and solidarity, while incorporating a colorful blend of humorous stories, sketches on natural history, and even a biography of Karl Marx. The texts in the various issues address questions of class, wealth and poverty, the German worker, and more. The journal combined leisure with value-based indoctrination: riddles and games (“Riddle Corner” - Rätsecke appeared repeatedly in the various issues). The year 1931 was a critical year in Germany – the peak of the deep economic crisis and the strengthening of the Nazi Party. At that time, the journal represented the attempt of the socialist movement to offer children a humanistic and democratic “counter-culture.” In one of the issues appears an image of a group of soldiers holding Nazi swastika flags, with the caption: “With us? .... marches the new war!” - the message warning children and their parents that the rise of the Nazis would inevitably lead Germany into a blood-soaked war. On another page, a clown with a swastika on his clothing is shown - beneath him appear two children whose eyes are covered, intended to warn against political blindness toward what might occur if Nazism were to rise. The text at the top of the page reads: “He who allows his eyes to be covered will not easily find his goal...”. On another page appears the story of “Fritzchen” describing a boy hiding in a coal cellar from police and managing to smuggle “leaflets and pamphlets” to his father and to people referred to as “comrades” (Genossen – a socialist term). The story praises the boy as a “hero of the evening” for assisting political activity against the dark violent forces of the SA units that oppressed the socialists at that time, and more in this spirit. During this period (1931), the struggle in the streets of Germany between the socialists and the Nazis was at its height. “Der Kinderfreund” used Nazi symbols to mock them and warn against them, in an effort to educate the younger generation toward critical thinking against Hitler’s ideology. Among the editors of the issues are Carl Fr. Wagner and Richard Köckeritz, Erich Kästner, Max Barthel, Julius Zerfass, Walter Bauer, Ernst Preczang, Ruth Rewald, Wilhelm Lamszus, and others. Illustrations by Hermann Abeking, Willibald Krain, and others. Rare. The issues from the year 1931 do not appear in the WorldCat global library catalog (issues from other years are listed). 415 pages. Issues bound. Very good condition.