Much of the promotion for the Austrian firm Matador was based on the publication of the Matador Zeitung, which appeared several times per year between 1905 and 1939. The richly illustrated magazine presented models for bridges, cars, cranes, pulleys, trains, and many other constructions. Gradually, in the mid-thirties, the tone in the magazine and in other Matador promotional material changed; war-related objects such as tanks, cannons, and various military vehicles dominated.ii This turn reflected the changing political situation and the rise of National Socialism. The Korbuly family (father and sons who continued the business after him) were compliant to the ‘camp thinking’ prevalent at the time and supported the NPD, an Austrian political party that promoted anti-Semitic views. The cover of Matador Zeitung of March 1938 included a frame with the swastika and the statement: ‘The Matador Company is Aryanised since its establishment in 1903’. The cover also presented an anti-aircraft gun designed and submitted by Albert Draschinsky (presumably a child or adolescent). This is a characteristic example of a firm co-opting children under the guise of play. Children were not only providing much of the content of the magazine for free, thus supporting the firm’s commercial goals, but were also manipulated into contributing to politically-motivated activities. In this way, through seemingly innocent and creative play, the children were becoming used to visual, material, and ideological expressions of nationalism, militarism, and other forms of aggression.
