walter, georg and dora: childhood under the watchful eye of the benjamin siblings

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12957/childphilo.2022.68145

Keywords:

childhood, walter benjamin, georg benjamin, dora benjamin, benjamin brothers.

Abstract

 

The following text introduces the story of the siblings Walter, Georg and Dora Benjamin, who understood childhood as a topic of interest, training, performance and theoretical production. Walter sees childhood as a philosophical perspective for a critique of culture, sensitive to children's actions and language; Georg, as a pediatrician, school doctor and deputy, takes childhood as a health emergency for the formulation of public policies; and Dora weaves a strong sociological analysis of the binomial women/children crossed by the work relations transferred from the textile industry to the domestic environment. These are just a few nuances of the Benjamin siblings' multifaceted relationship with the theme of childhood. Born at the end of 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, they lived through the oscillation of German politics and economy, the hardships of the First World War, the rise and consolidation of Nazism which forced them, due to their Jewish origins and intellectual condition, to undergo displacement, imprisonment, illness and death. A significant part of Walter's production was saved when he deposited his writings in libraries or sent copies to friends. Georg and Dora, who were more closely linked to the communist party, did not achieve the same success, and most of their vast production was destroyed in the book bonfires perpetrated by the Nazis. This has resulted in a silencing of their history and their vast intellectual production, which is now considered visionary–a silence that denounces the policies of exception dedicated to history's erasure.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

rita ribes pereira, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

Estudos da Infância

References

Benjamin, Hilde. Georg Benjamin. Eine Biographie. Hirzel, 1977.

Benjamin, Walter. Obras escolhidas. Vol. I – Magia e técnica, arte e política. São Paulo: Brasiliense, 1987.

Benjamin, Walter. 1892-1940 – Correpondence. Chicago. Univeridade de Chicago. 1994.

Benjamin, Walter. Reflexões sobre a criança, o brinquedo e a educação. São Paulo: Duas Cidades; Editora 34, 2002.

Benjamin, Walter; Sholem, Gershom. Correspondência. São Paulo: Perspectiva, 1993.

Benjamin, Walter. “Opinions et pensées. Mots et locutions du fils.” In: Marx, Ursula; Schwarz, Gudrun; Schearz, Michael; Wisisla, Erdmut (Org.). Walter Benjamin. Archives. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 2011. p. 104 – 147.

Chaves, Ernani. “Eros criativo: cultura e educação erótica nos textos do ‘estudante’ Walter Benjamin”. Artefilosofia. n. 4. Ouro Preto, 2008. p. 45-53.

Gagnebin, Jeanne Marie. “Walter Benjamin, um estrangeiro de nacionalidade indeterminada, mas de origem alemã”. In: Seligmann-Silva, Márcio (Org.). Leituras de Walter Benjamin. São Paulo: FAPESP e Anna Blume, 1999.

Heye, Uwe-Karsten. Los Benjamin. Una familia alemana. Madrid: Trota, 2020.

Jarek, Márcio. Reformar a escola para reformar a vida: Walter Benjamin, formação e juventude. APRENDER – Cad. de Filosofia e Psic. da Educação, ano XII, n. 19. 2018. p. 64-75.

Jay, Martin; Smith Gary. A Talk with Mona Jean Benjamin, Kim Yvon Benjamin and Michael Benjamin. In: Benjamin Studies / Studien 1. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2002.

Komander, Gerhild. Der Wedding: Auf dem Veg von Rot nach Bunt. Berlim: Berlim Story Verlag, 2006.

Lange, Bernd-Peter. 1942: Schach-Kassiber. der Freitag. N. 35. 2015. Disponível em https://www.freitag.de/autoren/der-freitag/1942-schach-kassiber Acesso em: 21/03/2021.

Mattos, Manuela Sampaio de. “Mundo de Singulares Afinidades Secretas”: o inconsciente nas Passagens de Walter Benjamin. Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul. Porto Alegre, 2019. (Tese de Doutorado).

Moura, Vasco Graça (org. trad.). Os sonetos de Walter Benjamin. Porto: Campo das Letras, 1999.

Schöck-Quinteros, Eva. “Dora Benjamin: ‘... porque espero poder trabalhar na América depois da guerra.’ Estações de uma cientista expulsa (1901-1946)”. Bremer online Journal Geschichte - Bonjour. Geschichte 4, 2014.

Wyneken, Gustav. Escuela y cultura juvenil. Tomo II. Madrid: La lectura, 1927.

Published

2022-10-23

How to Cite

pereira, rita ribes. (2022). walter, georg and dora: childhood under the watchful eye of the benjamin siblings. Childhood & Philosophy, 18, 01–32. https://doi.org/10.12957/childphilo.2022.68145

Issue

Section

estudos da infância: movimentos, limiares e fronteir