Volk und Rasse 1936 – Original Berlin Olympics Issue + Luftwaffe Song Sheet

Description

Volk und Rasse 1936 – an original September Olympic issue

Volk und Rasse 1936 is represented here by an original September 1936 issue of the German illustrated monthly Volk und Rasse, accompanied by a separate period Luftwaffe song sheet from the series Es leben die Soldaten.

The magazine is marked September 1936, Heft 9 and was published by J. F. Lehmanns Verlag, Munich. The cover shows an athlete performing on the horizontal bar, immediately connecting the issue with the physical-culture imagery surrounding Germany in the year of the Berlin Olympic Games.

This particular September issue has additional documentary importance because surviving institutional collections identify it as an Olympic-related issue of Volk und Rasse. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum specifically uses this issue when documenting how racial ideology, physical strength and Olympic competition were connected in National Socialist propaganda and racial-policy literature.

Original 1936 German periodical

Volk und Rasse was an illustrated German periodical dealing with subjects then presented as racial studies, population policy, hereditary biology, physical anthropology and related areas. It was published by J. F. Lehmanns Verlag in Munich and formed part of the racial-policy publishing environment of the period. Contemporary bibliographical listings describe the magazine as an illustrated monthly concerned with Volkstum, Rassenkunde and Rassenpflege.

The surviving contents visible in this copy include articles and photographic material concerning anthropology, physical appearance, sport and other topics characteristic of the publication.

From a collector’s point of view, the date makes this particular Volk und Rasse 1936 issue considerably more interesting than an undated or less identifiable fragment. Berlin hosted the Olympic Games only weeks before this September edition appeared, and the magazine’s sporting imagery places it directly within that historical setting.

This relationship is also recognised by museum and Holocaust-education collections studying the visual and ideological presentation surrounding the 1936 Games.

Additional Luftwaffe song sheet

The lot also contains an original paper song sheet from the series:

Es leben die Soldaten – Liederblätter

The sheet states that the series was issued “im Auftrage des Luftwaffenführungsstabes” and edited by Walter Rein. The present example is marked 31.

The reverse lists the different numbered issues in the song-sheet series. Surviving bibliographical and antiquarian references confirm the Walter Rein series issued through P. J. Tonger Musik-Verlag, Köln.

Although physically modest, such ephemeral paper material is useful to collectors because items designed for everyday distribution and use often survived in smaller numbers than bound publications.

Historical context

The 1936 Berlin Olympic Games were used extensively by the German government as an international showcase. The sporting events existed alongside a broader state propaganda campaign aimed at presenting an image of national strength, modernisation and social unity.

Volk und Rasse, however, belongs to a much darker part of that historical environment. The publication promoted racial theories and hereditary concepts that formed part of National Socialist racial ideology. Modern historical institutions preserve publications such as this precisely because they document the language, imagery and pseudoscientific arguments employed by the regime.

For that reason, the value of this material today is documentary rather than ideological.

Collector’s interest

What makes this lot particularly interesting is the combination of two different forms of contemporary printed material.

The magazine represents the more formal ideological and pseudoscientific publishing environment of 1936, while the Es leben die Soldaten sheet represents inexpensive military musical ephemera intended for practical circulation.

For collectors concentrating on the 1936 Berlin Olympics, German period publications, political history, propaganda studies, Luftwaffe ephemera or Third Reich paper material, the two pieces offer different perspectives on the same historical period.

Condition

Both pieces are original period paper items showing normal signs of age.

The Volk und Rasse magazine displays age toning, handling wear, small edge imperfections, minor marks and general period wear visible in the photographs. The binding remains intact in the photographed condition.

The song sheet also shows natural age toning and light handling consistent with an original printed paper item.

Please study all photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the condition description.

Authenticity

Offered as an original period piece on the basis of the features described above.

Both pieces are offered as original period material. Typography, paper, printing characteristics and construction are consistent with original German publications of the period.

Additional photographs can be supplied when required.

Further Reading

For historical background, see Deutsches Historisches Museum, LeMO: “Das NS-Regime”.

Before buying, read my Complete Collector’s Guide to WW2 German Documents.

Historical Responsibility Notice: this item is offered as a historical artefact for collecting, preservation, education and research. It does not endorse or glorify any ideology.