New edition
Classic by Michael Ende: Publisher removes N-word from the “Jim Knopf” books and changes covers
The old (left) and the new cover photo of “Jim Knopf and Lukas the Engine Driver”
© Thienemann-Esslinger Verlag GmbH
There has been a debate about racist language in old children’s books for years. The Stuttgart-based Thienemann Verlag has now reacted and made changes to Michael Ende’s classic “Jim Knopf”.
The adventures of Jim Knopf and Luke the engine driver are classics of children’s literature. Michael Ende’s works are repeatedly accused of using racist language. The Stuttgart-based Thienemann Verlag has now drawn conclusions and made some changes to the volumes “Jim Knopf and Lukas the Locomotive Driver” and “Jim Knopf and the Wilde 13”. In the new editions of the works, the N-word was deleted and stereotypical descriptions were reduced. Instead of “Indian boy” there is “boy” and instead of “Eskimo child” it is “Inuit child”. Jim Knopf’s black skin color is also no longer discussed. The changes were made in coordination with Michael Ende’s heirs.
“Jim Knopf” by Michael Ende: Publisher deletes N-word
“At the end of the early 1960s, Michael deliberately only put the N-word in Mr. Sleeve’s mouth to point out the lack of cosmopolitanism of this typical subject. Today, such a distant use can also be seen as discriminatory. The same applies to the equating of black and dirty skin, which Michael Ende uses as one of the stylistic devices to illustrate the close connection between Jim Knopf and the locomotive driver Lukas should be particularly emphasized,” said the publisher.
Not only were changes made to the texts, the title motifs of the books were also redesigned. The young hero can now be seen on the cover with noticeably lighter skin. Previously, his black face and dark hair blended seamlessly. Jim Knopf now has a wide grin – instead of thickly lined pink lips like before. The visual changes were made in consultation with the heir of artist FJ Tripp. In the sixties, Tripp illustrated not only “Jim Knopf”, but also other classics such as Ottfried Preußler’s “The Robber Hotzenplotz” and “The Little Ghost”.
In 2015, the publisher decided against making any changes
The announcement from Thienemann Verlag states that the illustrations could be “irritating when viewed today and against the background of black people’s experiences of racism.” The aim of deleting the N-word is to prevent young readers from even incorporating such racist terms into their vocabulary. Many children today “no longer know the N-word at all until they encounter it in a book,” said Thienemann publisher Bärbel Dorweiler in an interview with “Zeit”.
In 2015, when a special edition of “Jim Knopf and Lukas the Engine Driver” was published to mark the 55th anniversary, the publisher decided against deleting the N-word. The reason given at the time was, among other things, that author Michael Ende, who died in 1995, could no longer comment on the matter. The two now revised new editions will appear on February 24, 2024. “In addition to the new edition, the original edition will remain available unchanged in terms of text and images,” said a publisher spokeswoman. The original volume should contain an afterword in the future.
Sources: Thienemann Verlag, “Time”