Chapter 10
Portrait of the child as a socialist
Three photographic picturebooks from the German Democratic Republic
This chapter focuses on portraits of children in three photographic picturebooks from the German Democratic Republic
(GDR). While these picturebooks draw largely on modernist photography in the postwar period, they also react sensitively to
ideological demands from the official state authorities. To demonstrate this influence, this chapter exemplifies that these photobooks
represent different aesthetic and ideological strategies. While Bullermax (1964) by Edith Rimkus and Horst Beseler is an exemplar of a poetic strategy and Matti im Wald (Matti in the
Forest, 1966) by the same couple represents a realistic strategy, Kleiner Bruder
Staunemann (Little Brother Marveling Man, 1966) by Hans Hüttner and Lotti Ortner
stands for a propagandistic strategy. The chapter analyzes the inherent socialist values of the three books by stressing the idea of
the curious socialist child and the effects of montage.
Article outline
- Introduction
- Poetic strategy: Bullermax
- Realistic strategy: Matti im Wald
- Propagandistic strategy: Kleiner Bruder Staunemann
- Socialist values: Learning and curiosity
- Effects of montage
- Conclusion: Portraying the child in East German photobooks
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Notes
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References