When Fonts are Trouble: The Fraktur-Antiqua Debate

Around the time of WWII, there were numerous atrocities unfolding across the country of Germany, as many of us know. However, one small debate stood in the midst of all this chaos, one simple typeface that grew to define the Nazi regime altogether.

That typeface was originally Fraktur, mainly distiguished by its decorative endcaps in a blackletter style. However, an ancient conflict was revived when another typeface began to be compared alongside it, being the typeface Antiqua, or the Latin Script.

For more historical context, both Antiqua and Fraktur were both being printed throughout Germany at the same time until the first half of the 20th century, where Antiqua ruled as the primary typeface to define the infamous Nazi party.

This period of disagreement between the two typefaces first began in the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, and with it an effort was made to canonize German national literature, in which there was a need for a "unified grammar" to unite the culture.

Antiqua typefaces were made out to be "un-German", taken less seriously than Fraktur with its thick and bold use of blackletter font. Here is an old example of the two clashing:

In this text, note how the main text is written in Fraktur, while the numerals and subheadings are written in Antiqua.

As seen above, Fraktur is not... ideal for long body paragraphs, as the thick blackletter style it is so well-known for ends up to be clunky and nearly illegible when condensed into smaller text. Meanwhile, Antiqua typefaces are much cleaner, making for easier reading in its simplicity. Even though Fraktur is incredibly hard to read, during the time of the 19th century, most particularly the Romantic Period, its dark lettering was seen as a reflection of German Gothicism, which was later proven to be historically incorrect.

While being seen as such a small thing today, this debate created a divide between the two scripts so immense that some historical figures completely avoided Antiqua in its entirety. For example, the mother of the famous German author Goethe, (who is largely known for writing poems that would inspire great composers such as Mozart and Beethoven) would strongly advise her son against using Antiqua in his writings.

In the more modern times of WWII, Fraktur was banned altogether and Antiqua became the more acceptable font within German society. I believe that the script of Fraktur itself is perfect for titles, as its ornate design pairs perfectly with large print advertisements.

That's all for today, thanks for reading!