Bund für Deutsche Schrift und Sprache

The Bund für deutsche Schrift und Sprache e.V. (BfdS) is a German voluntary association dedicated to the preservation and cultivation of German scripts and the German language as cultural heritage. Founded in 1918 as the Bund für deutsche Schrift, it was dissolved in 1941 under National Socialist rule, re-established in 1951, and renamed in 1989 to include language. Since 1998 it has been a registered non-profit association. It publishes the quarterly journal Die deutsche Schrift, runs a foundation for blackletter scripts, and advocates for traditional orthography and typography.

The Bund für deutsche Schrift und Sprache (BfdS) was founded in 1918 as the Bund für deutsche Schrift. It immediately introduced its own association journal. Publication was interrupted in 1922 and 1923; in 1927 the journal received its current title, Die deutsche Schrift. Predecessor organizations that merged into the Bund für deutsche Schrift in 1918 included the Schriftbund deutscher Hochschullehrer e.V. and the Vereinigung der Freunde deutscher Schrift e.V. Although the Bund presented itself as an apolitical organization during the Weimar Republic, its publications during the National Socialist era reveal a national-conservative attitude; it saw the NSDAP as the solver of the script question. In 1941, the association and its journal were dissolved following the National Socialists' surprising ban on Fraktur, which led to the prohibition of German scripts and the general introduction of Antiqua as the so-called normal script. In 1951 the Bund resumed its activities, and the journal Die deutsche Schrift was reissued; since 1984 it has appeared quarterly without interruption. In 1989 the association's name was changed to Bund für deutsche Schrift und Sprache. Since 1998 it has held the status of a registered association (e.V.) and is recognized as non-profit. The original logo was designed around 1927 by Berlin commercial artist Georg Wagner and showed the Fraktur letters B, f, D, and S on a black background. Since 1982, the logo has been the capital S of the Manuskript-Gotisch typeface in HKS 33 (violet). The Bund states that this character is 'probably the most magnificent letter we have in all our typefaces, a royal figure with scepter and wide-flowing cloak.' Since 1993, the BfdS has administered a special fund, the Stiftung Deutsche Schrift, whose purpose is the 'preservation, promotion, and dissemination' of blackletter typefaces: Gotisch, Schwabacher, Fraktur; and handwriting scripts: German Kurrent, Sütterlin, Offenbacher Schrift. The foundation awards grants for typographic works designed exclusively or predominantly in these scripts. The Bund's publications are largely politically neutral and focus on German script and language culture (language maintenance and language criticism), also in the context of developments and difficulties in other cultures and peoples. The BfdS is critical of the 1996 orthography reform, calling it an 'attack on the German language.' In connection with the controversial reform, its publications refer, among others, to the work of reform opponent Theodor Ickler. The Bund is regularly present with a stand at annual events such as the Leipzig Book Fair, where it exhibits works set in Fraktur on script history or typography. It has also been present several times at the Sudetendeutscher Tag. In 2008, the BfdS published its 'Unicode-gerechte Norm für Zusatzzeichen' (UNZ-1) to standardize ligature encoding in blackletter fonts. The Bund also recommends the orthography seal (Rechtschreibsiegel) to show support for traditional orthography. Its publications include Bundesnachrichten des BfdS (1921–1926) and Die deutsche Schrift (1927–1940; 1951 ff.).

• 2008

  Published UNZ-1 standard

• 1998

  Registered as e.V. and recognized as non-profit

• 1993

  Stiftung Deutsche Schrift established

• 1989

  Renamed Bund für deutsche Schrift und Sprache

• 1984

  Journal becomes quarterly

• 1951

  Re-established; journal reissued

• 1941

  Dissolved under National Socialist rule

• 1927

  Journal renamed Die deutsche Schrift

• 1918

  Founded as Bund für deutsche Schrift

A non-profit cultural association advocating for traditional German scripts (Fraktur, Kurrent, etc.) and opposing the 1996 orthography reform.

• Die deutsche Schrift (quarterly journal)

• Die Fraktur – Gestalt und Geschichte (book)

• Rechtschreibsiegel (orthography seal)

• Jahrgangs-CD 2025

1. 1Willkommen beim BfdS - Bund für deutsche Schrift und Sprache e.V.bfds.de
2. 2Die Fraktur – Gestalt und Geschichte - Bund für deutsche Schrift und Sprache e.V.bfds.de
3. 3Bund für Deutsche Schrift und Sprachewikidata.org
4. 4Bund für deutsche Schrift und Sprachede.wikipedia.org