Jella Lepman
Jella Lepman (born 15 May 1891 in Stuttgart; died 14 October 1970 in Zurich) was a German journalist, author and translator who founded the International Youth Library in Munich.[1]
Life
Jella Lepman grew up in a liberal Jewish family in Stuttgart. In 1936 she immigrated to the United Kingdom with both of her children[2] and worked for BBC and the American Broadcasting Station in Europe (ABSIE).
She returned to Germany in 1945 as a consultant for the United States Army in the Re-Education Program for woman and youth[3] in the American Army occupation zones, first in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, and then later in Munich.
After the war
During the reconstruction of Germany, she was convinced that the hope should be placed into the hands of the children and that the best medium to achieve this was through books. Her work was mainly focused on the promotion of children's and youth literature and being able to teach them open-mindedness, tolerance and pacifism. In 1946, working with the International Youth book exhibition, she held the first international exhibition in Germany after the war. The exhibition surrounded itself around the International Youth Library which opened on 14 September 1949. In 1952 she initiated a conference about international understanding through children's books, from which the International Board on Books for Young People in based. Lepman wrote more in detail about this time of her life in her autobiographical book Die Kinderbuchbrücke.
Jella Lepman wrote many children’s books and collections of children’s stories, including a large multivolume collection of bedtime stories that she collected over the years, which have been translated into many different languages. In addition to her own children's books she suggested Erich Kästner and his picture book Die Konferenz der Tiere.
She was one of the initiators of the 1956 created Hans Christian Andersen Award, the world's most important award for young people's literature.
Lepman died in 1970 at the age of 79 years in Zurich and her final resting place is in the Zurich Enzenbühl cemetery on Forchstraße.
Since 1991, in honor of Lepman's 100 birthday, the International Board on Books for Young People awards the "Jella-Lepman Medal"[4] to people who have made a difference in the institution.
Books
- Der verschlafene Sonntag (1927)
- Wer ist Lux? Eine Detektivgeschichte für die Jugend (1950)
- Das Geheimnis vom Kuckuckshof - Eine Detektivgeschichte aus dem Schwarzwald (1958)
- Die Katze mit der Brille - Die schönsten Gutenachtgeschichten (1959)
- Die Kinderbuchbrücke (1964)
- Kinder sehen unsere Welt - Texte und Zeichnungen aus 35 Ländern (1970)
- Der verhaftete Papagei, Ullstein Taschenbuch, Berlin 1981, ISBN 3-548-00534-9
References
- ↑ Ingrid Weiß (1995). "Jella Lepman — Die Kinderbuchbrücke" (in German). Freiburger Rundbrief. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
- ↑ Jörg Schweigard. "Stuttgart 1921" (in German). ZEIT ONLINE. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
- ↑ Anna Becchi (2014). "Jella Lepman: Die Gründerin der Internationalen Jugendbibliothek" (in German). LIBREAS. Library Ideas. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
- ↑ "Jella Lepman Medal". International Board on Books for Young People. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
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