Per “contestualizzare“, come giustamente invitano a fare coloro che hanno deciso di far circolare senza rete la summa dell’hitleriano pensiero(?), ovvero il Mein Kampf, si potrebbe anche ricordare lo stato di annichilimento emotivo e culturale in cui l’ultima generazione tedesca nata sotto l’illuminata gestione nazista si trovò al termine della Seconda Guerra Mondiale: un esercito di giovani e giovanissimi allo sbando, nati e cresciuti nel mito di un dittatore che alla fine li aveva utilizzati senza pietà come carne da cannone, spesso resi orfani dal conflitto e dalle privazioni, senza una guida né una direzione, votati soltanto all’odio e al nichilismo, di certo incapaci di costruire alcunché ma con l’imprinting di distruggere se stessi e il prossimo.
Come si poteva anche solo tentare di salvarli?
E’ semplice: se un solo libro aveva contribuito a renderli schiavi, molti altri sarebbero serviti a restituir loro la libertà.
Su questo principio si basò il lavoro di Jella Lepman.
70 years ago, on July 3rd 1946, the International Exhibition of Children’s Books opened in Munich. With books from 14 European countries on loan, and paintings by children around Europe on display, it sounds like a fun library event.
But the date and location made it momentous. The Germans had surrendered only a year before and the country, not to mention most of Europe, was in tatters. The only reading matter for German children had been Nazi propaganda; any books questioning the regime or its values had long since gone up in smoke.
Those children were the future of the country. If they were to rebuild it from the ruins of Nazism, they needed exposure to new ideas – cultural tolerance, kindness, international understanding – that would encourage a different world view. And what better vehicle than stories that could sweep them away from the misery of daily life, from the bombed out streets and schools, the lack of food and fathers?
“The word ‘Re-education’ rang hollow in my ears, too, as far as adults were concerned. But children – did that not change matters? I found it easy to believe that the children all too soon would fall into the wrong hands if no help came from the world outside.” (Jella Lepman)
Read all text here: http://www.ibbyireland.ie/news-and-events/95-70-years-of-building-bridges