First of October 2019 press release

“Filth and Trash. The Weimar Republic” // Exhibition at the German Museum of Books and Writing of the National Library in Leipzig // 11 October 2019 to 26 January 2020

“Filth and Trash. The Weimar Republic” is the title of an exhibition showcasing censored and indexed writings and images from the 1920s and 1930s which is to be held at the German Museum of Books and Writing of the German National Library. Created in cooperation with the Institute for Communication and Media Studies at the University of Leipzig, the exhibition will open on Thursday 10 October 2019 at 19:30.

We associate the culture of the Weimar Republic with glitter and glamour, the Golden 20s and the avant-garde. Mass culture is often overlooked, despite the fact that it met with fierce resistance in its day. Ever since the days of the German Empire, concerned citizens had been taking action against the pleasures of the “common people” under the slogan “Schmutz und Schund” (“filth and trash”). The “Gesetz zur Bewahrung der Jugend vor Schund- und Schmutzschriften” (Law Protecting Young People from Smutty and Trashy Literature”) was enacted in 1926. The law specifically targeted erotic literature; however, it also encompassed crime fiction and adventure stories that fell below undefined standards of quality or moral integrity.

The showcase exhibition at the German National Library’s German Museum of Books and Writing will use numerous case studies to shed new light on this little-known chapter of the cultural history of the Weimar Republic. The items displayed will include popular pulp magazines, weekly novels, cheap periodicals, the first tabloid sheets and – last but not least – elaborately designed picture books. Besides providing insights into the index of banned literature, they will also contextualise the explosive social force and political message of certain provocative materials.

The exhibition is devoted to the mass-marketed entertainment products “that despite their popularity are often not taken seriously,” as curator Patrick Merziger, Junior Professor at the Institute for Communication and Media Studies at Leipzig University, emphasises. “However, the questions they raise are by all means still relevant today: should we protect young people from portrayals of violence and sexuality? Or would the argument that young people require protection encourage censorship?”

“These topical questions link the theme of the exhibition with the permanent exhibition on media history at the German Museum of Books and Writing, which devotes special attention to the subject of censorship,” adds museum director Stephanie Jacobs. “20 biographies of censored books dating from the 16th century to the present day testify not least to the dual nature of censorship: firstly as an – in extreme cases deadly – curtailment of press freedom and freedom of opinion by ideological hubris and autocratic monopolies on power, and secondly as a measure to preserve personal rights and protect young people.”

“For the Museum as a memory institution with a preservation mandate, partnerships like the one with Leipzig University mean an increase in academic and also ‘youthful’ input that is invariably inspirational,” says Stephanie Jacobs, Director of the German Museum of Books and Writing. “They also guarantee that the collections assembled by the Museum over the last 130 years come face to face with current questions and are thus fed into social contexts.”

Filth and Trash. The Weimar Republic

Exhibition at the German Museum of Books and Writing of the German National Library in Leipzig
11 October 2019 to 26 January 2020
Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00, Thursday 10:00–20:00
Public holidays (except Mondays) 10:00–18:00
Admission is free.

Exhibition opening: 10 October 2019 at 19:30

Welcome: Michael Fernau, Director of the German National Library in Leipzig
Introduction: Dr. Stephanie Jacobs, Director of the German Museum of Books and Writing
Presentation: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Patrick Merziger: The other modernity. The culture of filth and trash in the Weimar Republic.

Background

The book has shaped our culture and civilisation like no other medium. For centuries our knowledge about the world and its peoples has been stored in books. The task of the German Book and Writing Museum of the German National Library is to collect, exhibit and process evidence of book and media history. Founded in 1884 in Leipzig as the Deutsches Buchgewerbemuseum (German Book Trade Museum), it is the oldest museum in the world in the field of book culture, and also one of the most important with regard to the scope and quality of its holdings.

Institute for Communication and Media Studies at the University of Leipzig, Patrick Merziger, Junior Professor of Communication History

The Junior Professor of Communication History at Germany’s oldest communication studies institution carries out research into the effects of mass media on politics, culture and society and questions their importance in the development of public life since the 18th century.

Contact

Images for editorial use