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A happy figure says "Me understand German!" (sic, recte: Ich verstehe Deutsch!)

In 1944, a Dr. William Bode published a two-volume visual dictionary entitled Bildsprecher Deutsch für Soldaten (Picture-speaker German for Soldiers). The aim was to teach a sort of German pidgin to be used by soldiers who could not speak the language (in the Waffen-SS, for example). The first book, Grundausbildung (basic training) covers basic non-military terms: common verbs, counting to 100, parts of the body, articles of clothing, etc. It also teaches military terms such as describing landmarks and terrain as well as showing the parts of the most common weapons, like the Kar 98k. The second book, Sonderausbildung (special training) addresses more specialized weapons and vehicles, including the horse and field wagon. Words are presented in all capital letters accompanied with the word in cursive. Oddly, there is "Sutterlin" cursive on the cover, but the cursive script in the book is the modernized type that one can actually read.

Bode uses a simplified grammar, eliminating the aspects of German that learners find challenging. There are a few examples, like "Grenadier X haben Schmerz, brauchen Arzt" (Private X has pain, needs doctor). There is no der/die/das gender distinction. Verbs are used only in the infinitive, so it is not necessary to teach conjugations for person, tense, etc., nor do the strong and irregular verbs need to be learned. The only exception is ist (is) alongside sein (to be).

Another example: "In Mitte Kasernenhof sein eine Gruppe" (sic, recte: In der Mitte der Kasernenhof ist eine Gruppe.) "In the middle of the barracks is a group." It is not necessary to know it's der Mitte, der Kasernenhof (genitive), or ist. I'm not sure about "eine", perhaps the author slipped up, as "ein" as the universal indefinite article makes more sense.

The book relates to AH because it gives a potential hint about how the language barriers between the Nazis and their conquered people would be addressed. There could be "Deutsch für Bauer" picture books for farmers, "Deutsch für Handarbeiter" for laborers, and so on.

So, how would a victorious Nazi Germany teach the language? Would they use a pidgin like this one, or would they insist on proper German being spoken? Could both be used together, with Standard German as a prestige language and a pidgin spoken by the lower orders?

Links to the books:
Volume 1
Volume 2
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