Germany to de-nazify telephone alphabet

Discussion in 'Germany' started by Marco, Dec 4, 2020.

  1. Marco

    Marco Senior Member

    When the nazi's came to power the Jewish sounding names were officially replaced with names more acceptable to the master race.

    David became Dora
    Jacob became Jot
    Samuel became Siegfried
    Zacharias became Zeppelin, etc.

    It being Germany this is offially recorded a DIN publication (Deutsches Unstitut fur Normerung)

    After the war some changes were reversed, Samuel got the S back for example, but not everything was reversed.

    It is expected that a new list will be published in 2022.
     
    Chris C likes this.
  2. ltdan

    ltdan banana counter

    It was not only the Alphabet code, but also the entire writing:

    The Fraktur font is often regarded as typically German. In view of this, it is all the more surprising that the National Socialists were not advocates of the Fraktur typeface, but on the contrary even prohibited its use in a circular letter from the Reich Chancellery "on behalf of the Führer" dated January 3, 1941. According to the decree, the "Antiqua typeface" was to be designated "in the future as normal typeface", "The use of the „Schwabacher Judenlettern“ (Schwabach Jew letters) by authorities will be stopped in the future", and "Gradually, all printed matter was to be converted to this normal [Antiqua] typeface". The decree referred not only to printed matter, but later also to street signs.

    This decision was based on the fact that the origin of the "Gothic script" (Fraktur) was traced back to so-called "Schwabacher Judenlettern". The Schwabach script is one of the numerous Fraktur scripts that have been in use since the 15th century.

    That it should have been developed by Jews is just as wrong as all other apparent justifications that Martin Bormann cites as justification for the ban on the use of the Fraktur typefaces. Due to the strict guild laws, Jews were not even allowed to work in a printing house, let alone acquire one.

    The real reason for the ban was the consideration that writings intended for foreign countries that were printed in Fraktur script were difficult or impossible to read for those occupied population groups that were otherwise accustomed to reading Antiqua script. The Fraktur ban was thus a pragmatic decision of the National Socialists: if one wanted to rise to become a 'world power', one had to use a typeface that could be read by the whole (preferably occupied) world.

    The National Socialist decree of January 3, 1941, was especially followed in the postwar period. The number of books printed in Fraktur decreased rapidly within a very short period of time. In 1941, the Duden was printed in Fraktur for the last time, and its share today (apart from radical right-wing propaganda leaflets) is almost zero.

    Schrifterlass_Antiqua1941.gif
    Note the ironic fact that the letterhead still appears in the so-called Judenlettern
     
    Marco and TTH like this.

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