Bernhard Rust - Spelling Reform

Spelling Reform

Rust prepared a reform of German orthography, and his fairly extensive version corresponded to the ideas of the spelling reformers of the 1970s (lower case common nouns, elimination of lengthening-symbols). This attempt met internal resistance of the Reich's ministry. The German orthography reform of 1944 also failed. Before these failures, the rules of the reform were printed in millions of copies intended for classroom use and published in numerous newspapers. The 1944 reform was postponed on the orders of Hitler because it was "not important for the war effort." Some of Rust's innovations had, however, found their way into the 1942 Duden, such as the spelling of the word Kautsch for Couch, which persisted into the 1980s. Many of the proposed changes were finally implemented with the German orthography reform of 1996.