Farbfoto: 8 Schachteln für Märchen-Dias vor schwarzem Hintergrund1) ASCOP-Märchen-Schatulle mit 6 Filmstreifen: "König Drosselbart, Hans im Glück, Der gestiefelte Kater, Rotkäppchen, Im Schlaraffenland, Der Wolf und die 7 Geißlein". 2) Pappschachtel mit einem Filmstreifen: "Muschi und Miez". 3) Pappschachtel mit einem Filmstreifen: "Bärleins Waldspaziergang". 4) Pappschachtel mit einem Filmstreifen: "Häs'chen in der Grube". 5) Pappschachtel mit einem Filmstreifen: "Die Ansiedler"
Laterna Magica Filmstreifen, Märchen (1950 - 1970) Museum Europäischer Kulturen

Once Upon a Time... Picture Book Cinema in the GDR

07.10.2024 Dr. Ron Schlesinger (Guest Contribution)

It was a highlight at children's birthday parties or family gatherings: a show using slide-roll films, also known as colour picture strips. With the help of a projector, animal and adventure stories, but most notably fairy tales, would appear on the (children’s bedroom) wall. But what stories were shown, and what did comics, always viewed suspiciously in socialist cultural policy, have to do with them? Well then, tunr off the lights, put the projector in focus, and roll the film!

Reading time: about 10 minutes

In an era of digital beamers, hand-operated projectors, also called slide projectors, seem like relics from a distant past. Yet just a few decades ago, they were found in almost every household in the GDR. Although there were also a few 8mm film projectors for home movies and, by the late 1980s, video recorders, the latter were imported in limited quantities and were expensive.

Projectors filled this gap, especially the Pouva "Magica" (later: "Magica" youth projector) from the state-owned enterprise (VEB) Edelstahlwerk 8. Mai 1945 in Freital, Saxony. Its name was inspired by engineer Karl Pouva (1903–1989) and the "Laterna Magica" (magic lantern). Pouva introduced the small, easy-to-use black projector in the early 1950s. From 1958, it cost 22.10 East German Marks and continued to be produced until 1989/90.

How the Pouva "Magica" Projector Worked

The Pouva "Magica" was designed not just for slides but also for small roll films. These resembled 35mm photo films for analogue cameras and were inserted into the projector. Then, the room light was switched off or the room darkened, the lens focused, and the film was manually wound forward using two reels. A large white sheet of paper, a pale wall, or a door draped with a bed sheet served as the screen. Children and adults alike could enjoy a "cinema screening" in the comfort of their own homes, frame by frame.

The slide-roll films, initially in black and white and later in colour, were produced by various companies in the GDR, such as Imago Strahlbild, Ascop, and Drei-Ring-Bildschau. Mass organisations like the Society for German-Soviet Friendship (DSF) also released picture strips. These and others came in plastic or cardboard containers, often featuring a still image from the film, and were available for purchase at specialist photo shops.

In addition to photo series on cities, landscapes, cultural sites, and sporting events, there were also animal and adventure stories. However, fairy tales presented in illustrated picture series were particularly popular. These tales were often based on the works of the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, or Wilhelm Hauff, as well as stories from One Thousand and One Nights and Eastern European countries. The text was either embedded in the images, printed on a handout, or narrated on a record or tape.

Foto: Zylinderförmiger Filmvorführer, auf der einen Seite flach, Objektiv mit Linse und zwei Rollen für Filmbefestigung angeschraubt, oben kurzes Elektrokabel mit Porzellansteckkopf.
Pouva Magica (ca. 1950er Jahre) Museum Europäischer Kulturen

From Fairy Tale Films to Illustrated Fairy Tale Images


When it came to fairy tale-based slide-roll films, the East German state film studio DEFA stood out. Of the approximately 400 colour picture strips produced by the DEFA copyworks from the 1950s onwards (each costing 4.75 Marks for a single strip or 9.80 Marks for a double strip), over a quarter were dedicated to fairy tales by 1990.

Initially, these were not illustrated strips but six well-known animation and live-action films based on fairy tales. Among them were "The Cold Heart" (1950) and "The Story of Little Muck" (1953). Each of these DEFA films was adapted into about 120 still images across four slide-roll films. The image descriptions were presented on separate text cards between the photos, reminiscent of silent films from the 1910s and 1920s. DEFA may have been trying to differentiate itself from competitors like Imago and Ascop while also capitalising on its rights to these films.

From 1959 until the end of 1989/90, nearly 80 fairy tales were adapted into about 100 slide-roll films, created by around 35 artists. These featured a naturalistic fairy-tale world that drew on 19th and early 20th-century artistic traditions, influenced by the generation of artists who had learned their craft in the 1930s. Painters like Franz Kerka (1910–1968), Heinz Völkel (1912–1976), Heinz Rammelt (1912–2004), and Günter Hain (1916–1997) maintained their styles throughout their careers.

The "Walt Disney of the East" and the "City Chronicler with a Sketchpad"

These artists were also shaped by the history of fairy tale illustration, particularly the iconic imagery that remains popular to this day. However, each artist added their own creative flair. Rammelt, known as the "Walt Disney of the East", and Hain, referred to as the "City Chronicler with a Sketchpad" in Görlitz, were prime examples. Rammelt’s "Puss in Boots" (No. 79, 2nd edition) showcased his talent for animal depictions, while Hain’s intricate castle and city views in "The Frog King/The Star Talers" (No. 110, 2nd edition) were equally impressive.

Female illustrators like Sigrid Huss (b. 1929) and Gisela Schmidt (b. 1933) were just as influential. Schmidt shaped the genre more than anyone with 18 fairy tale slide-roll films for DEFA, such as "The Snow Queen" (No. 94/95), which bears the influence of 1950s Soviet animation, particularly its round, Disney-like characters.

Huss, meanwhile, focused more on deliberately simple and colourful illustrated fairy-tale worlds, which simultaneously played on the folk traditions of the genre and revealed her fondness for linocut techniques, such as in "The Heinzelmännchen of Cologne" (No. 219) and "The Seven Swabians" (No. 275). Both works were created in the late 1960s, when the trained sculptor, after studying graphic design at the Berlin-Weißensee Academy of Art (1956–1961) and gaining experience in various publishing roles, began working as a freelance artist.

Cartoon Zeichnung: Ein Dinosaurier läuft fröhlich durchs Bild, an seinem Schwanz hängt ein Mensch in Fellkleidung, hinter ihm action lines, die andeuten, dass er hüpft, im Hintergrund eine Höhle, aus dem Eingang schaut eine Person heraus
Dinosaurier von Heinz Jankofsky, "Mach` Feuer, ich hab`einen!" (1982) Sammlung Museen für Humor und Satire

"Boom!", "Slash!" and "STOP, THIEF!"

A different approach was taken by caricaturists Eduard “Edi” Hessheimer (1921–1992), Willy Moese (1927–2007), and Heinz Jankofsky (1935–2002), who embraced comic-book techniques. Hessheimer used speedlines to depict movement in "Snow-White and Rose-Red" (No. 191, 2nd edition), while Moese gave "Rumpelstiltskin" (No. 201, 2nd edition) a bulbous nose and a jester-like crown.

The legendary DDR cartoonist Jankofsky incorporated speech bubbles, sound effects ("Boom!", "Slash!") and bold-lettered dialogue ("STOP, THIEF!") in "Burratino" (No. 342–347), the Soviet version of Pinocchio.

Despite these innovations, both the illustrations and the texts reflected the cultural and political boundaries of the GDR. The comic-influenced picture strips remained on the margins due to cultural officials' mistrust of this "Western" art form.

The texts themselves adhered closely to the original fairy tales but were occasionally revised to align with socialist educational ideals. For instance, in "Sleeping Beauty" (No. 88, 89), the princess is depicted as a down-to-earth, helpful character, and in "The Bremen Town Musicians" (No. 83), the robbers are advised to try "honest work". Nevertheless, such revisions were the exception, as were omissions of religious references.

 

Dia Abzug eines Gemäldes: Auf einem sich aufbäumenden Pferd sitzt Napoleon mit Dreispitz und in rotem, wehenden Mantel und schaut die Betrachtenden an
Napoleon überquert die Alpen, von Jacques-Louis David (1801) Mediathek des Instituts für Kunst- und Bildgeschichte der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

More creative were the intentional artistic references, borrowing motifs from paintings and placing them in new (fairy-tale) contexts. For example, in "The Snow Queen" (No. 94/95), the brave robber girl, who helps Gerda find her friend Kay, sits astride a rearing white horse, a direct reference to Jacques-Louis David’s painting "Bonaparte Crossing the Alps" (1800).

The End of DEFA Slide-Roll Films and a Small Revival

After the political changes in the GDR, DEFA slide-roll films came to an end, partly for economic reasons: everyone could now afford an inexpensive video recorder. However, since the 2000s, the colour picture strips have seen a small revival, with some reappearing in fairy tale picture books or online, such as on the website of painter Erhart Bauch (1921–1991) or through the leiv Leipziger Kinderbuchverlag and Heinz Rammelt’s artist book series "FederEdition“. In the spirit of the stories themselves: and they lved happily ever after.

 

 

This text was written in response to our call "Tell Us Your Stories!" in which we invite users to discover stories within our collections. With over 50 million objects now in the database of the German Digital Library, there is certainly much more to uncover that is worth telling and which we may have overlooked so far! Do you have an idea? Write to us at kommunikation [at] deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de (kommunikation[at]deutsche-digitale-bibliothek[dot]de)

Sources:

Sackmann, Eckart: Bänkelsang und Schiebebilder – eine Entwicklungsgeschichte. In: Deutsche Comicforschung, Bd. 2, 2006, Hrsg. von Eckart Sackmann. Hildesheim: comicplus+ Verlag Sackmann und Hörndl, S. 112–122.

Schlesinger, Ron (Hrsg.): Märchen-Dia-Rollfilm in der DDR. Die DEFA-Color-Bildbänder im Überblick. Norderstedt: Books on Demand, VÖ: 11/2024

Vester, Patricia: Das sprechende Licht. Kino im Kinderzimmer – der DEFA-Dia-Rollfilm gestern und heute. Hrsg. von der DEFA-Stiftung. Berlin: [o. V.] 2007

Weißhahn, Guido: DDR-Comics auf DEFA-Rollfilmen. In: Deutsche Comicforschung, Bd. 2, 2006, Hrsg. von Eckart Sackmann. Hildesheim: comicplus+ Verlag Sackmann und Hörndl, S. 123–133.