Subversive youth literature – a fairy tale play by Alenka Gerlovič, Jurček and the Three Bandits (1944), in context

Abstract

The article deals with the fairy tale play by the painter Alenka Gerlovič (1919–2010) entitled Jurček in trije razbojniki (Jurček and the Three Bandits). The play was created during World War II and is an expression of the author's ethical attitude towards fascism and Nazism and the horrors of war. As the analysis shows, with this play Alenka Gerlovič became one of the world's youth writers who have commented on the war with their works. With Jurček, Alenka Gerlovič created an "imaginary screen" that enabled the audience to maintain a distance from atrocities in wartime conditions and at the same time be part of the anti-fascist struggle, also as a symbolic weapon and ethical act.Keywords: Alenka Gerlovič, World War II, fairy tale play, subversiveness, 1944.