Museum Meermanno – Offensive books? – St. Nikolaas en zijn knecht

In the Netherlands (and in other European countries) the day of Saint Nicholas was celebrated as a feast to give presents and sweet foods to children. St. Nicholas survived the reformation. He gave his presents in secret, but there were celebrations where somebody would dress up as the bishop. Often he had a counter figure, either as helper or as a threat for bad-behaving children (Père Fouettard, Krampus), with a lot of regional variation. In the Netherlands first mentions of a helper can be found at the end of the 18th century. In 1850 this book was published, which showed Saint Nicholas with one helper. He got the name Black Pete (Zwarte Piet) over time and by the third edition the appearance of a black man in a page costume was established.
More info:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwarte_Piet

The museum Meermanno (Museum of the Book) organised a exhibition of books that are now taboo. Main themes: depiction of black people, books that seek to convert people to christianity, especially Jews and people in the colonies, nazi books, stereotypical gender roles. More info:
www.meermanno.nl/offensive-books