War for children: Armed conflict in picture books

War is a current topic everywhere — even at the Frankfurt Book Fair, which ended October 23. Various stands presented countless picture books on war, flight and expulsion, many of which were new publications. But even the classics — some of which have long since won prizes — made a name for themselves once again.

"Because war is our topic of the hour," Anne Bender, program manager at the leading Hamburg-based Carlsen publishing house, told DW.

"Why?," for example, is what Russian illustrator and author Nikolai Popov (1938-2021) called his wonderful picture book, which appeared back in 1995, just a few years after the fall of the Iron Curtain. In vivid pictures, it tells of the escalating quarrel between Frog and Mouse over a beautiful flower. All that remains of the flowery meadow — in the wake of many battles and losses — is a smoking battlefield. The destruction is total, pain and suffering boundless. Frog and Mouse sit there, with one word written above them: "Why?"

No winners in war

Popov's message is clear: In war, there are only losers. Since 2015, "Why?" has been published in two versions — some with and some without text — by Minedition in Zurich, Paris, and New York. Since the start of the Ukraine war, global demand for the book, or rather the anti-war tale, has skyrocketed, publisher Didier Teyras told DW.

"No wonder, everything is shown in 15 pictures," Teyras says, "and children understand very, very well!"

It's tough stuff, especially for the younger set, but is just as much an invitation to talk to children about the difficult subject of "war."

Claude K. Dubois' book "Akim Runs" tells the story of a little boy whose home is destroyed in a hail of enemy bombs. Akim manages to escape, losing all the people he loves. At the end, in a distant refugee camp, a miracle happens: Akim finds his mother. Belgian author Dubois received many awards for "Akim Runs" in 2014, including the German Youth Literature Prize. It is touchingly written and illustrated.

Criteria for a good picture book

But what makes a good picture book, especially when it touches on the subject of war, which per se arouses immense fear in all of us?

"An empathetic figure and a good story are important," says Maria Linsmann, a picture book expert from Cologne. "A picture book on the subject of war must explain in an understandable way without trivializing the subject. It should at the same time correspond to the sadness and gravity of the topic."

And ideally, as in "Akim Runs," there should be a hopeful "happy ending."

German picture books during the Nazi era between 1933 and the end of the Second World War in 1945 were unable to provide this. The makers of children's and youth literature wanted to use their works specifically to ideologically influence the youngest, as Bielefeld literary scholar Petra Josting wrote in an essay published in 2008.

"Even young children," Josting wrote, "were to be indoctrinated and politically educated in a 'völkisch' (or nationalistic) sense in order to awaken racial thinking, 'Volksverbundenheit' (roughly translated to "nationalism"), the cult of the Führer and enthusiasm for the military and technology, as well as love of nature and the homeland, even at preschool age."

Nazi propaganda

In fact, idyllic depictions of childhood and stories of humanized animals or animate plants predominated at the time. Yet, a dangerous exception were the picture books "Trau keinem Fuchs auf grüner Heid und keinem Jud bei seinem Eid" (1936, Trust No Fox in the Green Meadow and No Jew on His Oath) by Elvira Bauer and "Der Giftpilz" (1938, The Poisonous Mushroom) by Ernst Hiemer, published by Julius Streicher of the publishing house Verlag Der Stürmer. Both books portrayed Jews as criminals, thieves and liars.

The instrumentalization of literature, especially of children's and youth literature, for political purposes, was not an invention of the Nazis. Even before and during the First World War (1914-1918), picture books portraying war found an audience.

Pathos and confidence in victory were in demand: Flower-wreathed volunteers, for example, waving cheerfully as they marched off to war, populated the cover of Rudolf Presber's "Vater ist im Kriege" (1915, Father is at War).

Emma Müller's "Der große Teich oder Die eifersüchtigen Knaben. Eine Kriegskindergeschichte" (1914, The Big Pond) allegorically portrays the world war as an amusing children's quarrel at the pond. For very young children, "Hansemann macht mobil. Feldgraue Kindergeschichten" (1915) by Luise Glass and "Sonnenstrahlen fürs Kinderherz. Allerlei aus Krieg und Frieden" (1916-1918) were published.

Peace can do great things

Exactly 100 years after the outbreak of World War I, the Troisdorf Picture Book Museum and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation jointly organized the exhibition "The Children's Book Declares War" in 2014, a rare show on a century-old theme.

Since then, the world of picture books has continued to develop. "Zari and Nivaan: A Story of Escape" by Kilian Leypold and Nour Altouba, was published in Germany by Carlsen Verlag in April 2023 for early readers. It tells the tale of two siblings who have to pack up and leave their country within minutes. German journalist Anja Reumschüssel's young adult novel "Über den Dächern von Jerusalem" (2023, Above the Rooftops of Jerusalem) is set against the backdrop of the decades-old Middle East conflict (likewise published by Carlsen).

"What is War?," asks Catalan author and illustrator Eduard Altarriba. His children's nonfiction book, published in German by Beltz in Hildesheim in 2022, provides answers. With impressive illustrations and clear texts, Altarriba explains where wars come from and what consequences they have. He prefaces his book with the quote from Bill Watterson's comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes": "Dad, how do soldiers who kill each other solve the world's problems?"

Zurich publisher NordSüd released "Peace," a collaborative work by Baptiste and Miranda Paul with illustrator Estelí Meza, that was originally published in 2021. Their message: Peace begins in small actions, but it can bring about great things.

This article was originally written in German.