Fourteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

My research explores the pioneering German magazine Jugend (1896-1940) in relation to the extreme changes within its country’s borders during this time. I created a website displaying the timeline of Germany’s history in relation to all 2,000+ covers of Jugend. Jugend magazine was so important that Germany’s art nouveau style is called Jugendstil due in part to the publication. This fin de siècle euphoria and Germany’s powerful industrial economy were both reflected in early Jugend covers. Darker times came with WW1, though Jugend covers displayed a reactionary sense of nationalism. In 1918-19, the Weimar Republic formed with Social Democratic ideals that were eventually skewed to legally bring Hitler to power by 1933. The Treaty of Versailles and the Great Depression both affected Germany’s troubled economy. Hitler and his followers began to push their political ideology with the Beer Hall Putsch at the end of 1923. Within a decade, a totalitarian state propelled the Nazi regime to more extreme control of a populous while spreading its message through propaganda. WW2 began in 1939, a year before the final publication of Jugend. With these major historical events, one would assume Jugend covers would display Constructivist or Expressionist styles in the 1920s that would eventually swing back to traditional imagery drenched in forced political propaganda by the late 1930s. Though these shifts are present, the styles and propaganda are much more subtle than I expected. Theories behind why this occurred will be presented along with the informative website.