German Stories - News from Frankfurt

A Column by Katerina Poladjan

Books with resonance: children’s and young adult publisher Beltz & Gelberg celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021, and paperback imprint Gulliver has reached a proud milestone of 35 years.

In Germany, as elsewhere, there has been heated debate about issues surrounding ‘identity politics’. Many new publications in various genres illustrate the different viewpoints and positions, arguments and counterarguments.

Identity politics divides us, creates artificial groups in society and reinforces discrimination instead of combating it. Isn’t it the opposite of what social justice movements should be doing? Wouldn’t it be more effective to bring us together instead of highlighting our differences? Aren’t we all human? And most importantly, do we want to be put in boxes – aren’t we all more complex than these fixed identity dimensions?

What is ‘identity politics’? Anyone who knows the answer is probably against the idea. In recent months, the term has had an illustrious career – but only as a caricature and a distortion.

Until not so very long ago, the term ‘identity’ was the preserve of right-wing movements, which interpreted it in a nationalistic and chauvinistic way. Today, it is increasingly being used on the left as a way of emancipating groups who experience discrimination. This, however, raises the question of whether the conscious recognition of identity can ever have a positive effect, especially from a progressive point of view.

Every year in October, the world comes to Frankfurt. People from across the globe gather together here because they have one thing in common: their love of culture and of words, whether in written, printed or (increasingly) electronic form.

A child’s everyday life is full of feelings, crying, laughing, being together, being apart, having fun and sleeping. To a child, everything is important and experienced with great intensity. At the same time, the world is big and exciting. Who are we humans in this world? And anyway, what is the world compared to the cosmos? Books can help to make sense of all this.

The German comics scene doesn’t have a particularly big share of the domestic book market, but it’s evolving and making its mark – with some interesting thematic trends.