Von Giftpilzen, Trödeljakobs und Kartoffelkäfern – Antisemitische Hetze in Kinderbüchern während des Nationalsozialismus

During the National Socialist period, children’s literature was used for propaganda purposes. It was supposed to educate children to grow up into soldiers, good mothers, patriots and anti-Semites. The authors had to write these children’s books in a special way in order to achieve this. Here, some examples will show this kind of children’s literature; its language, its illustrations and, above all, how Jews were presented in these books. The hate campaign against the Jews is also to be found in textbooks. No German or Austrian child attending school between 1938 and 1945 could be protected from Nazi propaganda. This article aims to shed light on the dark side of Austrian history.