B b — the Sütterlin letter B

History

The letter B is the 2nd letter of the German alphabet. Phonetically, it represents a voiced bilabial plosive /b/, which undergoes final-obstruent devoicing (Auslautverhärtung) to voiceless /p/ at the end of syllables and words. In 1911, the graphic artist and typographer Ludwig Sütterlin was commissioned by the Prussian Ministry of Culture to develop a modernized handwriting script for primary education, creating what became known as Sütterlinschrift.

Sütterlin lowercase b regularizes the ascender loop into an upright vertical oval, dropping straight down to form a rounded lower bowl that finishes with a horizontal bar at the waistline. Capital B is written completely upright with two balanced, circular lobes connected to a straight central downstroke. Unlike historical Kurrent, which slanted sharply and featured narrow pointed angles (Spitzschrift), Sütterlin mandated an upright posture (Steilschrift) and round curves. It was designed specifically to be written with a monoline steel round nib (Kugelspitzfeder), avoiding difficult variations between thick downstrokes and hair-thin upstrokes.

The letter b is indispensable in genealogical research, opening vital vocabulary such as 'geboren' (born), 'begraben' (buried), 'Braut' (bride), and 'Bürger' (citizen). Recognizing its distinctive mid-height connecting arm prevents confusion with neighboring tall looped characters like l and h. Sütterlin was introduced into Prussian schools in 1915 and spread throughout Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. Because it was taught exclusively from 1915 until the 1941 Bormann decree abolished all German scripts, documents written in Sütterlin can reliably be dated to a narrow historical window between the First World War and the mid-twentieth century.

For family historians and genealogists examining early twentieth-century German letters, diaries, postcards, and school exercise books, identifying the regular, upright letterforms of Sütterlin B provides an immediate benchmark for dating and transcribing the text.