An Analysis of the Educational Value of Children’s Literature in Else Günther’s Sonjas lustige Türkenreise
Ali Osman ÖztürkElse Günther is a children’s author who began writing after the World War II, but was almost completely forgotten by the end of the 1970s. In her books, which contain pre-intercultural characteristics, she made efforts to introduce some foreign continents, such as Africa and Asia (Turkey) as well as Scandinavian countries like Sweden, Norway, and Finland to the children of post-war Germany. Through such a familiarization, in my opinion, she aims to develop the intercultural skills in children of post-war children Germany. In Sonjas lustige Türkenreise, it appears that the author does not imply the destruction and consequences of the Nazi regime, even though she wrote in the beginning of the 1950s. On the contrary, she seems to bring an exemplary family life at the forefront of the new welfare society. Even the title Sonjas lustige Türkenreise is striking, for it includes the words “Turkish Trip” instead of “Turkey Trip.” Therefore, it can probably be interpreted as a mental trip into the culture of the Turks, i.e., Asians. The novel is about “middle-class heroes” coming from good family backgrounds. In the novel, imagination and psychology become important elements for children to get away with the obligations of honesty (as a duty) and strict adherence to norms set by adults (see Steinlein, 2008, p. 327). In my opinion, this requires the involvement of Günther’s young girl novel into the texts of “child autonomy literature” (Ewers, 1995), i.e., into the field of the pacemaker texts, as the novel includes a free-spirited and rebellious protagonist. Not only is the relationship between parents and children important but also the way in which Günther reflects foreign worlds, in terms of pedagogy, is interesting, especially regarding the intercultural education of children of the new generation.
Zum pädagogischen Wert der Kinderliteratur am Beispiel von Else Günthers Roman Sonjas lustige Türkenreise
Ali Osman ÖztürkElse Günther ist eine Kinderbuchautorin, die sich nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg schriftstellerisch zu betätigen begann und gegen Ende der siebziger Jahre fast völlig verschwunden ist. In ihren Kinderbüchern von vor-interkultureller Charakteristik versucht sie in Nachkriegs-Deutschland, den deutschen Kindern fremde Kontinente wie Afrika und Asien (die Türkei) einerseits und europäische Länder (wie Schweden) näher zu bringen und dadurch meines Erachtens die interkulturelle Kompetenz der Nachkriegskinder zu fördern. Ausgehend von dem Inhalt ihres Kinderromans Sonjas lustige Türkenreise kann man sehen, dass die Autorin, obwohl sie Anfang der 50er Jahre schreibt, nicht von den Verwüstungen oder Folgen des vorangehenden Nationalsozialismus redet, sondern ein musterhaftes Familienleben in einer Wohlstandsgesellschaft in den Vordergrund rückt. Else Günthers Mädchenroman Sonjas lustige Türkenreise finde ich schon mit dem Titel auffällig; es heißt nicht Türkei-, sondern Türkenreise. Hiermit scheint wahrscheinlich eine mentale Reise in die Welt der Türken (als ein asiatisches Volk) gemeint zu sein. Der Roman handelt von “mittleren Helden” aus einem gut bürgerlichen Milieu, wo wir ebenfalls beobachten, dass “Fantasie und Psychologie, die den Kinderfiguren aus der Verpflichtung auf Wohlanständigkeit und strikte Anpassung an die von Erwachsenen gesetzten Verhaltensnormen heraushelfen, (…) zu wichtigen Elementen [werden]” (Steinlein, 2008, S. 327), was uns meines Erachtens ermöglicht, Else Günthers Mädchenroman mit seiner freimütigen und z.T. rebellischen Protagonistin zu dem Bereich der ‚Schwellentexte, d.h. Vorläufertexte‘ einer “Literatur der Kindheitsautonomie” (Ewers) zugehörig zu betrachten. Nicht nur der Umgang der Eltern mit den Kindern, sondern auch die Art und Weise der literarischen Darstellung fremder Welten der Autorin Else Günther erscheint uns aus pädagogischer Perspektive von grosser Bedeutung, besonders im Hinblick auf interkulturelle Erziehung der Nachwuchsgenerationen.
Else Günther is a children's author who started writing books after the Second World War, but was almost completely forgotten by the end of the 1970s. In her books, which have a pre-intercultural characteristic, she introduces foreign continents such as Africa and Asia (Turkey) and countries such as Sweden, Norway, and Finland to children in post-war Germany. In my opinion, she uses her writing to develop the intercultural skills of post-war children. Based on the children’s book Sonjas lustige Türkenreise, it seems that the author did not talk about the destruction by and consequences of the Nazi regime, even though she wrote during the early 1950s. On the contrary, she brings an exemplary family life to the forefront of the welfare society. Even the title of her book is striking because it translates as Turkish Trip instead of Turkey Trip, so one could argue that it can be seen as a mental trip into the world of the Turks (as Asians). Franz & Meier (1978, p. 155) state that the text pragmatics, or use and function of the text, should be taken more into consideration while organizing children’s or juvenile literature. They suggest that the following questions be asked:
Does the text primarily want to be instructive?
- Does the text primarily want to direct behavior?
- Does the text primarily want to entertain? (see Nündel, 1976)
From this point of view, my aim is to answer these questions about the text function in terms of what it is attempting to evoke in the reader’s mind in the example of Else Günther's children’s novel Sonjas lustige Türkenreise. My goal is to clarify how children's literature contributed to child education in the 1950s and which bridge functions between the self (me) and others after the racist regime. The focus of this research is the question of how the author encouraged child education and the overcoming of societal prejudices toward the degradation of foreign peoples and cultures. Else Günther mostly wrote novels during the first years of her authorship in the 1950s, which made a tremendous pedagogical contribution to intercultural children's education in the context of the literature of child autonomy. In this sense, the children are directed to conscientious behavior through the examples set by little Sonja's mischiefs and experiences
Thus, the questions we have asked at the beginning are also answered based on Nündel (1976). Else Günther's text is entertaining on the one hand, but on the other hand, it is secretly so instructive that child readers are directed toward better behavior by reading.
From a pedagogical point of view, this approach is praiseworthy, because it would otherwise not be a suitable method for children's education. An unsympathetic teaching might have caused a negative reaction in the children and the desired aim would not have been reached. Children should be able to move autonomously in their own living and play areas so that they can create their own experiences by observing the human and animal environment. In this sense, Else Günther has a tendency to act in accordance with the text function of the novel Sonjas lustige Türkenreise, thus developing a role model for child readers and to initiate a spiritual identification process. The novel is about middle-class heroes who come from a nice family environment. We see here that imagination and psychology are important elements for children to get rid of the obligation to undertake honesty as a duty and a strict adherence to norms set by adults (see Steinlein, 2008, p. 327). In our view, this requires the involvement of Else Günther's young girl novel to the texts of “child autonomy literature” (Ewers, 1995); that is, to the field of the pacemaker texts in this context, with its free-spirited and rebellious protagonist. Not only parents’ relationships with their children, but also the literal reflection of foreign worlds are obviously very important to the author in terms of pedagogical aspects, especially with regard to the intercultural education of the children of the new generation.
