Tiroler Heimatwerk

The most striking characteristic of the Tyrolean Heimatwerk is the lettering in “Schaftstiefelgrotesk”. This remarkable typography opens a view into a particularly critical chapter in the relationship of power and lettering.

The Nazis made the blackletter their official typeface in the early days of the Third Reich. However, when they realized that many people could not read this typeface, they tried to get rid of it. Suddenly, the typeface was – under complete distortion of historical facts – claimed to be a “Judenletter” (Jewish lettering) and therefore banned in the so-called Bormann decree of 1941. A rather unique occurrence in history: political figures eliminate a typeface.

More about blackletter
and its history

Since its very beginning, blackletter has triggered many often-contradictory debates, involving amongst others Bismarck, Goethe, Schiller and the Nazis.

But how did it come so far? During the times of Emperor Maximilian, blackletter was used as a “German Type” along with its counterpart, the Latin typeface “Antiqua”. Great works of German poetry were set in blackletter for the German-speaking world, while “Antiqua” fonts were accepted for scientific publications. Maximilian I had the “Fraktur” typeface specifically designed for his famous poetic work Theuerdank. But on the other hand, for his famous portrait, painted by Albrecht Dürer, “Antiqua” was used, since he wanted to be seen as the Holy Roman Emperor of the German Nation. When Goethe preferred “Antiqua” for his famous The Sorrows of Young Werther, he was faced with harsh criticism.

Blackletter fonts were completely discredited during the later stages of the National Socialist regime. At first, they were used as a style-forming element in the “corporate design” of the Nazis and were even subjected to modernization attempts. Then, however, it became the symbolic “occupier’s typeface”. At the height of the Nazi regime’s power, it became clear that this typeface could not be read by many. Nevertheless, blackletter fonts are still used today and can be seen in countless newspaper headlines of publications such as at the New York Times or Le Monde.

Gradually, fractured typefaces are liberated from their historical baggage. Some graphic designers are rediscovering this type tradition, making the beauty and formal richness of these typefaces recognizable again. Judith Schalansky, for example, wrote the book Fraktur Mon Amour. As the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once claimed, “type is its use”.