The youth literature control room
The Jugendschriften-Warte was a publication of the United Examination Committees , which was dedicated to the evaluation of new publications in the children's and youth book sector and published lists of recommended books.
The main aim of the Jugendschriften-Warte was to develop an alternative to trivial mass literature for children and young people.
The sheet appeared for the first time under the editorship of the Berlin teacher Paul Ziegler on August 10, 1893 with a print run of 8,400 copies. The Hamburg teacher H. Wolgast took over the management from 1896 to 1912. Unlike his predecessor, who primarily recommended pedagogical and moral children's literature, he placed the emphasis on artistically valuable reading for young people.
After Wolgast, and with an interruption at the end of the First World War, the Jugendschriften-Warte continued under changing editorial management. At the end of the Weimar Republic , the circulation was between 180,000 and 200,000 copies and was included in almost all teachers' newspapers. The recommendations reflected the opinion of around 250 examination boards, which were divided into 12 regional associations.
In 1933 the Jugendschriften-Warte was brought into line under the National Socialist Teachers' Association .
During its existence, the Jugendschriften-Warte had a great influence on which books are recommended for children and young people. The recommendation lists reflect traditional evaluation criteria. However, the paper was also a forum for different points of view on suitable youth literature.