Background
Jella Lepman grew up in a liberal Jewish family in Stuttgart.
Jella Lepman grew up in a liberal Jewish family in Stuttgart.
She returned to Germany in 1945 as a consultant for the United States Army in the Re-Education Program for woman and youth in the American Army occupation zones, first in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, and then later in Munich. Her work was mainly focused on the promotion of children"s and youth literature and being able to teach them open-mindedness, tolerance and pacifism. In 1946, working with the International Youth book exhibition, she held the first international exhibition in Germany after the war.
The exhibition surrounded itself around the International Youth Library which opened on 14 September 1949.
In 1952 she initiated a conference about international understanding through children"s books, from which the International Board on for Young People in based. Lepman wrote more in detail about this time of her life in her autobiographical book Die Kinderbuchbrücke.
Jella Lepman wrote many children's books and collections of children's stories, including a large multivolume collection of bedtime stories that she collected over the years, which have been translated into many different languages. She was one of the initiators of the 1956 created Hans Christian Andersen Award, the world"s most important award for young people"s literature.
Lepman died in 1970 at the age of 79 years in Zurich and her final resting place is in the Zurich Enzenbühl cemetery on Forchstraßest
Since 1991, in honor of Lepman"s 100 birthday, the International Board on for Young People awards the "Jella-Lepman Medal" to people who have made a difference in the institution.