 Fig. 1: Walbaum-Fraktur ( 1800)  Fig. 2: Humboldtfraktur (Hiero Rhode, 1938)  Fig. 3: Werbedeutsch (Herbert Thannhaeuser, 1934) The German word Fraktur (pronounced /frakˈtuːʀɔ/ in IPA) refers to a family of typefaces. The term derives from the past participle of Latin frangere ("to break"), fractus ("broken"). As opposed to Antiqua (common) typefaces, modelled after antique Roman and Carolingian writing, the lines in Fraktur letters are broken up, approximating handwriting. In this broad sense, some refer to a form of handwriting itself as Fraktur also; one such is called Sütterlin or Schrift.
Besides the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, and the ess-zet and vowels with umlauts as well, Fraktur typefaces often include the long s, a variant form of the letter r, and a variety of ligatures once intended to aid the typesetter and which have specialized rules for their use.
In a more narrow sense, the term "Fraktur" refers to a number of blackletter typefaces, which are commonly divided into "Gothic", "Schwabacher", and "Fraktur" fonts. See the "typeface" article for detail.
The first Fraktur typeface was designed when Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (r. 1493–1519) established a series of books and had a new typeface created specifically for this purpose. Fraktur quickly overtook the earlier Schwabacher and Gothic typefaces in popularity, and a wide variety of Fraktur fonts were carved.
As opposed to other countries, in Germany, typesetting in Fraktur was entirely common still in the 19th century. Some books from the time used Schwabacher still; however, the predominant typeface was the Normalfraktur (Fig. 1), which came in various slight variations.
Fraktur went out of fashion during the early 20th century because of the obvious communication problems with non-native German speakers. However, in an attempt to deliberately differentiate Germany from the rest of the Western world, it was reinforced by Nazi Germany (1933–1945), which pronounced that Antiqua typefaces were not Aryan. During that time, new, more artificial Fraktur typefaces were designed (see Fig. 2 and 3). This policy was officially held up until January 3, 1941, when Martin Bormann issued a circular letter to all public offices which suddenly declared Fraktur to be Judenlettern (Jewish letters) and prohibited further use. It has been speculated that the régime had realized that Fraktur would inhibit communication in the territories occupied during World War II as well.
Fraktur is today used merely for decorative typesetting; for example, a number of traditional German newspapers still print their name in Fraktur on the first page. In spite of the Nazi decree of 1941, Fraktur is frequently associated with the Nazi regime in American popular culture.
Isolated Fraktur letters are also used in mathematics, e.g. to denote Lie algebras or ring ideals.
Earlier versions of the Volapük language added vowels from Fraktur to the Roman ones. Later versions substituted them by the Roman version with a ¨.
(The German sentence in the figures reads: "Victor jagt zwölf Boxkämpfer quer über den Sylter Deich". This is a nonsense sentence meaning "Victor chases twelve box fighters across the dike of Sylt", but contains all 26 letters of the alphabet plus the German umlauts and is thus an example of a pangram.)
In the United States, Fraktur is more commonly used to describe highly artistic and elaborate 18th century and 19th century illuminated folk art drawings created by the Pennsylvania Germans (often erroneously called Pennsylvania Dutch). Most Fraktur were created between 1740 and 1860.
Fraktur drawings were executed in ink and/or watercolors and are found in a wide variety of forms: the Vorschriften (writing samples); the Taufscheine (birth and baptismal certificates), marriage and house blessings, book plates, and floral and figurative scenes. The earlier Fraktur were executed entirely by hand, while printed text became increasingly common in later examples. Common artistic motifs in Fraktur include birds, hearts, and tulips.
Today, most major American museums like The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art include Fraktur in their collection. Important Fraktur have been sold by major American auction houses and antique dealers for prices in excess of $100,000. The definitive text on Fraktur is widely considered to be The Fraktur-Writings or Illuminated Manuscripts of the Pennsylvania Germans, written by Dr. Donald A. Shelley and published by the Pennsylvania German Society in 1961. In late 2004, part of Dr. Shelley's Fraktur collection was sold at public auction in Pennsylvania for $897,833.
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