Verbale Aggression

Jörg Meibauer

„Um den Schädling zu vernichten“

Propaganda, Hass, Humor und Metapher im Kindersachbuch: „Die Kartoffelkäferfibel“ (1935) und „Karl Kahlfraß und sein Lieschen“ (1952)

Abstract: Two German informational books addressed to children, namely “Die Kartoffelkäferfibel” (1935) and “Karl Kahlfraß und sein Lieschen” (1952) are analysed. While they contain useful information about the Colorado beetle – that threatened the population’s food security in the post-war periods – and its control, they also display propaganda directed against the French and the US American people insofar as it is suggested on a pictorial and metaphorical level that the Colorado beetles are foreign invaders or immigrants. This suggestion works in a humorous fashion, ...