Sütterlin

Summary

Historical form of German handwriting, used 1915–1970s Sütterlinschrift (German pronunciation: [ˈzʏtɐliːnˌʃʁɪft], "Sütterlin script") is the last widely used form of Kurrent, the historical form of German handwriting script that evolved alongside German blackletter (most notably Fraktur) typefaces. Graphic artist Ludwig Sütterlin was commissioned by the Prussian Ministry of Science, Art and Culture (Preußisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Kunst und Volksbildung) to create a modern handwriting script in 1911. His handwriting scheme gradually replaced the older cursive scripts that had developed in the 16th century at the same time that letters in books had developed into Fraktur. The name Sütterlin is nowadays often used to refer to several similar varieties of old German handwriting, but Sütterlin's own script was taught only from 1915 to 1941 in all German schools. First exercises in Sütterlin in a school notebook (1953) The ministry had asked for "modern" handwriting scripts to be used in offices and to be taught in school. Sütterlin created two scripts in parallel with the two typefaces that were in use (see Antiqua–Fraktur dispute). The Sütterlin scripts were introduced in Prussia in 1915, and from the 1920s onwards, they began to replace the relatively similar old German handwriting (Kurrent) in schools. In 1935, the Sütterlin style officially became the only German script taught in schools. In 1941, the Nazi Party banned all "broken" (fraktur, blackletter) typefaces, including Sütterlin, and replaced them with Italian-style lettering, such as the Antiqua typeface class. From the academic year 1941/42 onwards, only the so-called Normalschrift ("normal script"), which had hitherto been taught alongside Sütterlin under the name of "Latin script", was allowed to be used and taught. However, many German speakers who had been brought up with that writing system continued to use it well into the postwar period. Sütterlin continued to be taught in some German school...