A comparison of contemporary East and West German children's literature on three themes

This study is a comparison of selected children's works from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) published between 1970 and 1983 on three themes: National Socialism, work, and relationships between children and adults. Both East and West German children's books show the wrongs of Nazism. East German children's books also present experiences of those who fought against Hitler, and depict the postwar era as the foundation for the current GDR-USSR friendship, while West German books emphasize the common civilian and military experience of the war and postwar periods. East German children's books teach very positive attitudes towards work, depict positive conditions of work in the GDR, and show workers who are involved in actual production. West German books depict less positive attitudes towards work, rarely show production work, and illustrate porblems related to work that exist in the FRG. East German children's books depict frequent, meaningful interaction between children and adults. West German books depict less frequent interaction and more frequent conflicts in values between them.;In both the messages taught and the methods used to teach them, East German children's books reflect the uniform, authoritarian society of the GDR, and West German children's books reflect the greater variety of ideas that are accepted in the FRG. On each of these themes, East German books teach the same basic lessons, while West German books depict a greater variety of attitudes and values. Children in East German books are usually taught by adults, while children in West German books usually learn through their own experiences. West German books tend to include more detail in their depiction of transitions in characters' opinions than do East German. Most East German children's books are written by men and depict a male-dominated society from a male character's point of view. West German children's books are written by a more equal proportion of men and women, and include a more equal proportion of male and female characters.