Why Did Germans Stop Using Fraktur?

The Nazis got rid of it! 👀

For centuries, German was often printed in Fraktur, a distinctive blackletter typeface

🌍 By the late 1800s, many scientists, businesses and publishers were already pushing for a switch to the more international Antiqua typeface

🏛️ The debate became so heated that it even reached the German parliament in 1911

🦅 After 1933, the Nazis embraced Fraktur as something uniquely German and used it extensively in propaganda

⚔️ Then came the problem: people across occupied Europe struggled to read it

📜 In 1941, Martin Bormann ordered that Fraktur be abandoned in favour of Antiqua

✡️ Rather than admit the practical reasons, the regime absurdly claimed that Fraktur was somehow of Jewish origin

🍺 Today, you’re most likely to spot it on old pub signs, traditional restaurant menus or historic buildings - stuff that wants to give you that old world feel, even if it’s not really that old…

Click here to learn more.

Fraktur – Rise and Fall of a Cultural Script / Aufstieg und Fall eines kulturellen Skripts

Aug 22, 2025 | Fraktur typefaces were the face of German written culture for over 400 years – from Emperor Maximilian to the Luther Bible. Its history reflects power, faith, and political upheaval until its abrupt ban in 1941. / Frakturschriften prägten über 400 Jahre lang die deutsche Schriftkultur – von Kaiser Maximilian bis zur Lutherbibel. Ihre Geschichte spiegelte Macht, Glauben und politische Umbrüche wider, bis sie 1941 abrupt verboten wurden.