Letters are political. Not only do they form words, they also come in different fonts. The Nazi pamphlets often used an archaic serif typeface. Progressive lyrics were often in the Futura font. This was found out by a group of students from the Franconian Switzerland high school in Ebermannstadt, who visited the printing workshop of the Dachau Artists’ Association (KVD) last Monday during a three-day educational program.
The 15 schoolgirls between the ages of 16 and 19 stayed at the Max Mannheim youth hostel. From Saturday to Monday, they took part in a school trip that is part of their scientific seminar “Print”. The three days began with a guided tour of the Dachau concentration camp memorial site. The schoolchildren learned from the comics and graphic novels that were presented to them how a culture of remembrance can also function through artistic expression. On the last day they were then allowed to design themselves with large mechanical printing devices and dealt with various printing techniques: stone printing, screen printing, letterpress printing and classic etching were available to them. Bruno Schachtner from the KVD and his team accompanied the students as they worked.
“The heart beat for everyone in the concentration camp”
When choosing a motif, the girls were asked what treasure they would guard as a “concentration camp prisoner”. Evi, 17 years old, chose the motif of an anatomical heart. “The heart beat for everyone in the concentration camp. It symbolizes life and you have to protect it to the end,” said the high school student from Upper Franconia. In addition, the students were able to process their impressions of the concentration camp memorial in art.
17-year-old Johanna artistically processes her impressions from the Dachau concentration camp memorial site.
(Photo: Toni Heigl)
Evi, 17, chooses the motif of a human heart.
(Photo: Toni Heigl)
The cooperation between the KVD and the Gymnasium Franconian Switzerland took place for the first time this year. The responsible art teacher Mia Schöpf and the Dachau resident Bruno Schachtner (KVD) had previously met in the garden of a mutual friend. This is how the cooperation came about, says Schöpf. And it shouldn’t stop with just one visit: “We’d love to come back next year.”
Schachtner and his team offer their printing devices to anyone who is interested. The team also includes trained typesetters, a profession that has died out today. The printing methods offered are therefore only used in art. After all, newspapers today are digitally designed and printed. However, the students know about the historical development of printing. “At school we already dealt with the history of printing since antiquity,” says the art teacher.
A visit to a newspaper printer in Bamberg is coming up
In the course of the scientific preparatory seminar, the schoolgirls should also consider their professional perspective and be able to prepare for relevant studies. Schöpf, the teacher, tells us that a modern print shop and a newspaper print shop in Bamberg will soon be on the program for the high school students.
Johanna, 17, could imagine studying art, fashion or media design one day. She says about the weekend in Dachau: “Everything was very exciting and exciting for me.” For them, the visit to the memorial was their first time in a former concentration camp. “Combining the impressions with art and also trying out the print was interesting.”
After their trip, the students now have to write a paper on the technology or philosophy of writing. “It shouldn’t just be fun, it should also leave a mark,” says art teacher Mia Schöpf, explaining the purpose of the trip.