Skin color is irrelevant
Skin color is a minor matter a book for young people by Hans-Georg Noack from 1960. Noack tells the story of the colored German Jonny, who is racially discriminated against because of his skin color . Due to its current subject matter, the book is still used as teaching material in schools today. The 4th edition has been published to this day.
action
Jonny is a dark-skinned teenager. The son of an American soldier and a German mother comes to a small town and takes up a job as an apprentice. Everyone initially asserts that his "skin color is secondary". The musical and good-looking Jonny is very popular at first, but then falls in love with the pretty Brigitte, whom band leader Erhard has an eye on. In order to eliminate his rival, Erhard begins to racially discriminate against Jonny, stir up prejudices and turn Brigitte's father and the whole youth of the small town against him. When Jonny loses his apprenticeship and runs away in panic, Erhard and his cronies are confronted by the Jewish apprentice Sam, who compares Erhard's actions with the Nazis' persecution of Jews . The young people are shocked, find Jonny broken up and vow to improve. Jonny forgives his tormentors because he wants to make a fresh start. But Noack conveys the message that this matter is not over and that the young people have to do a lot of reparations so that they can wash their names again.
classification
Skin color minor was published in 1960 and is considered one of the first books for young people to deal with the subject of racism . Racism is described here less as an end in itself than as a welcome excuse to eliminate unpleasant people. Although Noack clearly portrays Erhard as the main culprit, who discriminates against Jonny for minor reasons, he also portrays the special role of fellow travelers . They accept the accusations against Jonny without criticism and willingly take part in Erhard's perfidious pranks: not because they are inherently malicious but because they're too thoughtless to question Jonny's alleged guilt. Thus, it is theorized that racism alone is ineffective; you need people who are stupid enough to believe in it or who do not defend themselves against it. Noack cites moral courage as a means of counteracting this , embodied by the Jewish apprentice Sam: with a single fiery speech he exposes Erhard's ideas and awakens the young people from their false (but comfortable) worldview.
Known for his anti-racist engagement, Noack later translated the book Die Welle by Morton Rhue , in which two innocent schoolchildren fall victim to fascist ideas. To this day, both skin color and The Wave in Schools are popular books in anti-racism education.
literature
- Hans-Georg Noack: Skin color is secondary . Ravensburger Buchverlag, Ravensburg 2002, ISBN 3-473-58030-9 .
- Hermann Scherl (ed.): Hans-Georg Noack in school. Materials for the teacher . Maier Verlag, Ravensburg 1986