Never violence!

Never violence! is the title of a speech Astrid Lindgren gave in 1978 on the occasion of her receipt of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade . It is one of the most famous and influential speeches by Lindgren in which she speaks out against violence against children. In 2009, on the occasion of World Children's Day, a German short film was released under the same title, in 1978 the speech was published for the first time in book form, and in 2017 there was a new edition of the book that not only contains Lindgren's speech but also other texts.

speech

On October 22, 1978 Astrid Lindgren gave a speech of thanks on the occasion of her receipt of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade . In her speech in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt , she campaigned for a non-violent upbringing. At that time there was still "the parental right to corporal punishment" in Germany.

content

Astrid Lindgren starts by talking about the fact that as long as man has stayed on this earth, there has been violence and war. True peace, however, does not exist on earth. Politicians would talk about disarmament, not about their own, but about that of other countries. This would lead to greater and greater armament, as the individual countries would not trust the other's will for peace.

Astrid Lindgren wonders why so many people strive for power or revenge and want violence. She doesn't believe that they are naturally evil. So she thinks about how people can learn to avoid violence. In her opinion, people have to start with the children. She thinks that most dictators have experienced violence, humiliation, insults and exposures themselves and pass this behavior on. Those with whom the children were entrusted would decide whether to instill love for them that these children could later pass on. She explains that even free and unauthorized upbringing does not mean that children are allowed to do what they want and that there must also be behavioral norms and rules for this form of upbringing. A loving respect for one another is to be wished for children and parents.

Then Lindgren tells a story she heard from an old lady. When the lady was a young mother, her son had done something that she thought required severe punishment. She asked the boy to get a stick and bring it to her. The boy took a long time to do this and came back crying with a stone. When he explained that he had not found a stick, but could throw her at him with the stone, the mother realized what the boy must have felt. He must have thought she just wanted to hurt him and she could do that with a stone. She cried and hugged the child. Later she put the stone on a shelf. It should serve as a warning to her never to use force.

Astrid Lindgren later says that she believes that children are not hidden from the atrocities, acts of violence and oppression that currently exist in the world. It is therefore important to convey to them at home that there is another way. Perhaps everyone should put a stone on the kitchen shelf as a reminder never to use force. It could serve peace in the world.

background

On the occasion of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade on October 22, 1978, Astrid Lindgren wanted to give a speech on non-violent education. At that time, violence in education was still considered normal in many circles. Astrid Lindgren had to submit the speech to the committee beforehand. She was advised to only accept the award and not to make a speech. The organizer found the speech too provocative. Astrid Lindgren insisted on giving her speech as it was or not coming at all. In 2020 the audio book #Haltung was published. Statements for a better society. Original recordings from Albert Einstein to Greta Thunberg. at Der Hörverlag . Astrid Lindgren's speech in full can also be heard there.

Effects of speech

Lindgren's speech soon spread around the world. In her home country Sweden Astrid Lindgren teamed up with scientists, journalists and politicians to achieve a non-violent upbringing. In 1979, based on Astrid Lindgren's speech, a law was introduced in Sweden that prohibited the beating of children. Until then, there was no such law anywhere in the world. After Sweden, other Nordic countries followed Lindgren's example. In Germany, according to the law banning violence in upbringing (Section 1631 II BGB) , children have only had the “right to a non-violent upbringing” since 2000. Nevertheless, as early as 1978, Lindgren's speech was thought-provoking. As a result, even more scientists in this country were concerned with the consequences of violence against children and were able to substantiate Lindgren's theses. According to criminologist Christian Pfeiffer , this made a rethink in Germany possible in the first place and ultimately led to the above paragraph. After Sweden, many other countries around the world introduced laws on non-violent upbringing. Nepal is now the 54th state to prohibit the beating of children.

book

The speech never violence! has been published in book form in several countries. The first publication in Germany was in 1978 by the German Book Trade Association. The 62-page book is titled Astrid Lindgren or Astrid Lindgren: Speeches on the occasion of the award of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels) , often the title Astrid Lindgren. Peace Prize Speeches indicated. Until then there were other new editions of the book.

content

The book always contains the complete speech (see also the content of the speech). There are also various accompanying texts in the various editions. In the German edition of 2017 there is a foreword by Dunja Hayali as well as an afterword by Silke Weitendorf and a time table about the life of Astrid Lindgren has been added to the book. In the foreword, Hayali talks about her childhood experiences with Astrid Lindgren as well as her own thoughts and feelings regarding Astrid Lindgren's speech. Before the afterword there is a photo of Astrid Lindgren accepting the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, as well as a photo of the award certificate. Behind it there is a text fragment by Astrid Lindgren with the title “I would wish”, in which Lindgren thinks about the state of the world. The fragment is not entirely dissimilar to her speech. The epilogue provides background information on the award ceremony and how Astrid Lindgren came to be who she was. Lindgren's life and stories are included.

background

The 2017 edition was published on March 20, 2017 by Friedrich Oetinger Verlag in Hamburg. The book is 75 pages long.

The foreword to this German edition comes from Dunja Hayali , a German television presenter. The afterword was cut from a lecture given by Silke Weitendorf in November 2014 in Constance. Silke Weitendorf is a publisher of the Oetinger Verlag, which has published most of the German-language Astrid Lindgren books.

A new edition of the book appeared in Sweden in 2018 under the title Aldrig våld! . It also contains Lindgren's entire speech. The foreword, however, comes from Marta Santos Pais, a special envoy from the UN Secretary-General to combat violence against children. Pais leads the international work of the UN to prevent and eradicate violence against children. The afterword comes from Thomas Hammarberg , a former human rights commissioner at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Stina Wirsén illustrated the cover . The Swedish edition was translated into English together with the preface and epilogue as well as Stina Wirsén's cover illustration and was published under the title Never violence! .

criticism

Esma from What are you reading? writes that there is never violence! Although it was a "small and thin book", it was "so full of content" that she wished "everyone would read it - and above all live it".

Stephanie Müller thinks it's frightening how up-to-date Lindgren's excellent speech is still read today. She believes that this should be read and internalized again and again by many more people.

Stephanie Streif from the Badische Zeitung thinks that the little book is dedicated to “a very big, important topic”, “children's rights”.

Luette Lotte thinks that the book seems inconspicuous and small at first, but its content is deeply moving and thought-provoking.

expenditure

German editions

• Astrid Lindgren (1978): Astrid Lindgren: Speeches on the occasion of the award of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (Peace Prize of the German Book Trade) (German). Exchange Association of the German Book Trade. ISBN 9783765708206
• Astrid Lindgren (2011): Never violence! (German). Salikon förlag. ISBN 9789197963824
• Astrid Lindgren (2017): Never violence! (German). Friedrich Oetinger Verlag. ISBN 9783789107894

Swedish editions

• Astrid Lindgren (1979): Aldrig våld! (Swedish). Rabén & Sjögren & Rädda Barnen, 1500 copies
• Astrid Lindgren (2011): Aldrig våld! (Swedish). Salikon förlag. ISBN 9789197963800
• Astrid Lindgren (2018): Aldrig våld! (Swedish). Astrid Lindgren text. ISBN 9789187659133

Issues from other countries

• Astrid Lindgren (2014): ποτέ βία! (Pote via !, Modern Greek). Tankobon hardcover. ISBN 9786188119314
• Astrid Lindgren (2015): 暴力 は 絶 対 だ め! (Boryoku wa zettai dame) (Japanese). Tankobon hardcover. ISBN 9784000247894
• Astrid Lindgren (2018): Never violence! (English). Astrid Lindgren text. ISBN 9789177737001
• Astrid Lindgren (2019): Net nasiliju! (Russian). Belaja vorona. ISBN 9785001140450
• Astrid Lindgren (2019): May violenza! (Italian). Salani. ISBN 9788893817912

Short film

Movie
German title	Never violence
Original title	Never violence
Country of production	Germany
original language	German
Publishing year	2009
length	6 minutes
Rod
Director	David Aufdembrinke
script	David Aufdembrinke, Astrid Lindgren (story)
production	DAGO children's lobby e. V., David Aufdembrinke
music	Oliver Heuss
camera	Lilli Thalgott
cut	David Aufdembrinke
occupation
Noémi Besedes : mother Justus Herold : Boy Angelika Thomas : neighbor

A short film by David Aufdembrinke is never violence . It is based on the story Astrid Lindgren told in her speech of the same name.

action

A boy watches as his neighbor covers a strawberry floor and places it on the windowsill to cool. He takes the strawberry crust and eats it. He is discovered by the neighbor. She drags him by his ear to his mother and tells him that she should punish her boy. The mother tells her boy to go outside and get a stick. The boy tries to break something off a thick branch, but fails. When it gets dark, the boy is still not back. The mother runs around with the flashlight and calls for him. But her son does not answer. Then she runs to the phone. Just as she is about to make a call, her son comes back. He says he's sorry. The mother explains that it is not that bad, the main thing is that he is back. The boy sadly notices that he unfortunately could not find a stick and hands her a large stone. He adds that it could hurt him too. The mother looks at him in horror, puts the stone aside and hugs her boy. The stone is placed on the window sill and the words “Never violence” appear.

background

It took the film team over a year to develop the film. The film was later shot with a budget of 3,000 euros, within three days in Steinberg-Haff and Emkendorf in Schleswig-Holstein . At first it was considered to relocate the story to the present day. The mother should be a single parent and come from a precarious position. But that would have resulted in many viewers seeing violence as another problem. Instead, the film team wanted to depict violence from a child's perspective. Director David Aufdembrinke explained that it is a child who does everything so that his mother will love it. He also said that it was important to him to show that children who experience violence perceive it as something completely normal and that they pass it on. If violence is alien to them, one can hope for a peaceful future. The film was released on the occasion of World Children's Day on September 20, 2009 by the DAGO Children's Lobby in cooperation with the German League for Children in Family and Society . These two organizations advocate the interests and rights of young people. For the main actor Justus Herold it was the first film role. In 2010 the film was shown at the Sardinia Film Festival in Sardinia . The Swiss Child Protection Foundation took the international No Hitting Day as an opportunity to show the film on April 30, 2011 on its website.

Reviews

Sandra Schäfer from the Berliner Morgenpost thinks that the choice of images and the rural surroundings keep the story timeless. It would also be very reminiscent of the world of Astrid Lindgren's characters.

Franziska Falkenberg from Hamburger Abendblatt praises camerawoman Lilli Thalgot who "captures the child's perspective in an impressive way". Her pictures speak for themselves and "deeply touched the audience in harmony with Oliver Heuss' music despite the short length of the game."

Sophie Lüttich from Berlinfreckles.de explained that the film “really got under her skin”. Director David Aufdembrinke created "with this short film a wonderful piece to think about."

Web links

• Never violence! in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Never violence on the Vimeo website of director David Aufdembrinke
• Astrid Lindgren's impulse sheet (PDF) part of Astrid Lindgren's speech
• Never violence! ( Memento of April 28, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) - the speech on time online
• Never violence! (PDF) - the speech on the website of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Karin Gümmer: Let's all put a small stone on our kitchen shelf .
2. ^ Peace prize for "Pippis" creator .
3. ↑ Elke Scheiner: The conflict over the speech “Never violence!” .
4. ↑ Never violence! .
5. ↑ Jens Bisky: Historical days .
6. ↑ ^{a b c} Christian Pfeiffer : Exterior view: Non-violence begins with children .
7. ↑ Astrid Lindgren's vision: Never violence! .
8. ↑ Education without violence: How Astrid Lindgren initiated a cultural change with a speech that was supposed to change Germany .
9. ↑ Astrid Lindgren's plea "Never use violence!" .
10. ^ Mary Graupner: Never violence - Astrid Lindgren .
11. ↑ Aldrig våld! .
12. ↑ Aldrig våld! .
13. ↑ Never Violence in English .
14. ↑ Esma: Never violence! .
15. ↑ Stephanie Müller: Astrid Lindgren - Never violence .
16. ↑ Stephanie Streif: Astrid Lindgren: Never violence! .
17. ↑ Luette Lotte: Never violence! Astrid Lindgren's fiery speech for children's rights .
18. ↑ ^{a b c} Sandra Schäfer: IMPRESSIVE! Short film against beat parents. . Archived from the original on October 9, 2009.
19. ↑ Never Violence .
20. ^ ^{A b} Franziska Falkenberg: Appeal against violence from a child's perspective .
21. ↑ Never violence .
22. ↑ World Children's Day. A plea for a non-violent upbringing. .
23. ↑ Never violence - "Astrid Lindgren" .
24. ↑ Sardinia Film Festival 2010 (PDF)
25. ↑ Angela Zimmerling: Stiftung Kinderschutz shows a film on non-violent upbringing .
26. ^ Sophie Lüttich: Never violence! (Why we should all have a stone on the windowsill.) .