In 1970, there was a new reform movement in handwriting instruction in Bundesrepublik Deutschland (BRD), or West Germany, led by elementary school teacher Heinrich Grünewald.
Sample pages from Einstern’s Schwester Lola, Vereinfachte Ausgangschrift by Cornelsen 2022
Based on the findings of Grünewald’s research and with his involvement, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Schreiberziehung, or the Working Group for Writing Education, which was a special group dedicated to handwriting within the Arbeitskreis Grundschule e.V, or the Working Group for Primary Schools, developed Vereinfachte Ausgangschrift (VA), or simplified starting script. This model was presented school boards in 1973, consequently tested in several schools, and the final version was officially introduced in 1980.
Sample pages from an exercise book by Jandorf Verlag, 2022
It has slanted letters with semi-joined uppercase letters, and cursive, fully-joined lowercase letters that feature ascender and descender loops. In contrast to Lateinische Ausgangschrift and Schulausgangschrift, lowercase letters in this model do not have entry strokes, only exit strokes that reach up to the x-height. The lack of entry strokes has invited criticism of this model. The uppercase letters, especially the V, W and N, are also more simplified in this model.
