Schulverein für Deutsche or Schools Association for German

[JLEES]

Hello,
Here is colorful postcard bearing a “patriotic” motif promoting Pan-Germanism in the Austrian-Hungarian was published around this period by the Verlag des Vereines “Südmark” or South Nation Association of Graz to support their organizational goals. Founded as part of the so-called Schulverein für Deutsche or Schools Association for Germans in the Austrian crown lands. They were an outspoken counterweight to the perceived advancement of the Czech languages being spoken and taught in community schools, where large numbers of Germans resided in ethnically mixed borderlands and Bohemia and Moravia.

The upper section states:, “To the brothers in the endangered Land – a warm and healful heart felt Land!” The lower section is hard to translate. I believe it's Old German. While the lower poem is written in older German and difficult to translate, but proclaims the need to defend the country against its enemies. Could someone look at it and please give me a translation?

James

[ianbli]

Nice find. Apart from positioning itself as that aforementioned counterweight language wise, the Schulverein für Deutsche / Deutscher Schulverein Südmark was also distinctly antisemitic, largely großdeutsch, and in parts early (and, they way I see it, rather successful) promoters of national socialist ideas. I once had a look into that on a regional level, and quite a few names of people formerly having some function in the Schulverein would later pop up in some capacity in the NSDAP or some Gliederungen.

[JLEES]

Interesting! I'm sure there was much cross over between the Schulverein für Deutsche and NSDAP. Thanks for you reply. It's a striking postcard and was trying to find some things about it. The woman looks like Germania and she holding an early Pan German Flag, but I don't understand the lower poem. I believe it's Old German and difficult to translate, but appears to be proclaiming the need to defend the country against its enemies. Could you look at it and please give me a translation?

[ianbli]

It's loosely translated something along the lines of: In dark and stormy night, the enemy is approaching, wake from the mark in the south (Südmark), to defend German people and lands.

The poem in the upper part is fairly common.

[JLEES]

Many thanks. I got nowhere translating the bottom poem. My German isn't that great and this appears to have been written in Old German: "Hei Wetternacht! Hei Sturmgebraus!"

I understands there about 600 Schulverein für Deutsche postcards issues around the turn of the last century and started to get interested in them, because they are distinctly antisemitic, largely großdeutsch, and in parts early (and, they way I see it, rather successful) promoters of national socialist ideas. Sadly, there hasn't been too many books about this period and the transition of the Schulverein für Deutsche to the Austrian Nazi DNSAP Party to the Munich NSDAP.
James

[ianbli]

If you're interested in Schulverein cards, you might want to have a look at this little publication: Heinz Zimmermann, Postkarten Deutscher Schulverein Südmark, Vorläuferkarten, Sonderausgabenkarten, Ortsgruppenkarten, Baden (Austria) 2008. Overall you're right, the Schulverein has not received a whole lot attention in research, although it is mentioned again and again in passing.

By the way, it's "Bei Wetternacht! Bei Sturmgebraus!", plus I am somewhat surprised/irritated by what I read as "Hallo" in l. 3, as it does not seem to fit the overall tone of the rest of the poem.

And I didn't really understand the copy/past section of my own reply in your last paragraph, just sayin'.

All the best.

[JLEES]

Yes, the "Hallo" caught me off guard too. Not sure why that was the first word of the sentence. Sounds slightly odd. Maybe it was an expression that's now outdated. Also, many thanks for the "Bei Wetternacht! Bei Sturmgebraus!" correction.

In terms of the copy/pasting back to you of your previous comment, I was just agreeing with everything you had said. For years, I firmly believe Hitler got his political ideas from his early days in Vienna 1907-1913 more so than in Germany during the Great War and later on in Munich. I find it amazing that the Schulverein, Großdeutsch, Georg Ritter von Schönerer, early Austrian Pan German history doesn't receive too much attention. It's an interesting period that often gets overlooked by historians.

[JLEES]

Isanbli,
Have three follow-up questions. Can "Hallo" have other meaning that might be more appropriate of the line? In the English language we can say, "Hello!" to imply it's time to wake-up or start thinking better. One could say, for example, "Hello, where is your brain?"

Is Heinz Zimmermann, Postkarten Deutscher Schulverein Südmark, Vorläuferkarten, Sonderausgabenkarten, Ortsgruppenkarten, Baden (Austria) 2008 book hard to find? Tried looking it up on eBay and couldn't locate it.

Also, over the past few years I've been trying to find early Austrian NSDAP postcards. There was a group in Vienna that produced some between 1919-1923 and I've acquired about eight of them. They're very basic and cheaply made, indicating a lack of funds for the time. The two most well know are the 1921 Nazi Christmas and News Years cards. Do you have any idea how many cards this small group produced?
Thanks,
James

[ianbli]

ad 1) I honestly don't know. "Hallo/halloh" is already mentioned in Grimm's dictionary and defined as "lauter antreibender Zuruf", so the use in the poem might be less weird that I had thought.

ad 2) I believe the book was self-published, so it may well be it's not too easy to get your hands on it. Here's a link to a library holding that includes what seems to be the address of the author: http://search.obvsg.at/primo_library/li ... 6910003331

ad 3) Postcards in general and early Austrian Nazi postcards in particular are neither my field of interest, nor field of expertise, so I'm sorry I cannot be of any help here.

[JLEES]

Many thanks for your kind assistance!
James

[ianbli]

Glad I could help.