 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
Friedrich (initially published in German as Damals war es Friedrich) is a novel about two boys and their families as they grow together during Hitler's rise to power and reign in Germany in the 1930s. It is by the author Hans Peter Richter. Friedrich was first printed in 1961. [1] [2]
Friedrich Schneider is a young Jewish boy growing up in an apartment house in Germany, with the narrator as his neighbour and friend. The story starts in 1925 and finishes in 1942 when the narrator is 17. Though the story is told by his non-Jewish friend (Hans Peter Richter or the narrator), Friedrich is the protagonist. The narrator's name is unknown, and speculations are that the narrator is Hans Peter Richter. The narrator tells of the persecution of the Jews through Friedrich's eyes. Friedrich is forced to switch to a Jewish school and is thrown out of swimming pools and movie theaters. An angry mob goes to his house and kills his mother (see Pogrom). His father gets fired and has an emotional breakdown. Friedrich finds a girlfriend, Helga, whom he likes, but soon he must stop seeing her, or she will be sent to a concentration camp. Friedrich and his father are forced to do whatever they can to make money to survive. Friedrich helps his father hide a rabbi in their house, but soon Friedrich's father and the rabbi are arrested, and Herr Schneider was probably sent to a concentration camp. Friedrich, who was not home when the police came, now must live in hiding. [3]
During an air raid, Friedrich begs to be allowed into the air raid shelter but is kicked out by the air-raid warden, Herr Resch, who was also their landlord. After the raid, the narrator, his family, Herr Resch, and his wife return to the house. They notice Friedrich on the stoop, apparently unconscious. Herr Resch decides to get rid of him by kicking him, and they realise that Friedrich is dead, killed by shrapnel (not specified). Resch then remarks that Friedrich has died a better death than was expected.
The novel begins with the introduction of a garden gnome named Polycarp. The narrator talks about how he and Friedrich never met: their parents lived in a different apartment building, which was owned by a man named Herr Johann Resch. At first, the Schneiders and the narrator's family were more and dangerous where he can not have in his life because he is dealing with so much already acquaintances, but with the births of the narrator and Friedrich a week apart, they become better friends. The Schneiders' religion is not revealed in this chapter, though it is assumed they are Christian because of how well-off they are. The narrator's father is unemployed, and the birth of the narrator puts a financial strain on his family. However, the narrator is still well received and feels welcomed in his home.
One day when Friedrich and the narrator are four years old, Friedrich stays with the narrator's family while his mother attends to some business at City Hall. At first, the narrator is reluctant to share his toys with Friedrich and blocks the way to his room, but Friedrich doesn't seem to mind. He takes out a cuckoo whistle and begins blowing into it, and the narrator is fascinated by it. Friedrich gives him the whistle, and the narrator allows Friedrich to play with his toys. They later help the narrator's mother to make potato pancakes, and eventually, both children fight for the first pancake. When Friedrich drops the pancake, they decided to share and eat it from the ground. Because of the mess, the mother allows them to take a bath together, an activity both enjoy very much. This becomes the foundation of their friendship. Also,the narrator's mother remarks that Friedrich looks "like a little Jew" (in a non-hostile way), probably due to the fact he is circumcised.
It is snowing and Friedrich is playing with his mother in the snow, and the narrator wants to go over and play with them. When the narrator sees the duo having so much fun, he is anxious to go and play with them. However, the narrator has to wait until his busy mother is done before he could play. In the end the narrator's mother relents after finishing her work and brings the narrator out to play in the snow with Friedrich, just in time to watch them build a snowman. The narrator's mother thinks that the snowman is missing something after they are done building it, and Friedrich and his mother also seem to have the same thoughts. Thus, they use pieces of trash to form the parts of the snowman, such as potato peels and coal dust, but their landlord, Herr Resch, screams at Friedrich not to mess up his rose bushes when Friedrich when he plays and fools around and calls Friedrich a “Jewish Boy” as an insult. The narrator's mother pulls the narrator away from the window.
The narrator's grandfather comes to visit and learns of the narrator's interactions with the Friedrich. The narrator's grandfather forbids the narrator from playing with Friedrich anymore, although nobody listens.
The narrator sits in on the majority of a traditional Friday night Jewish tradition (the Sabbath) after playing with Friedrich all day with his toys. He gets to see how the Jewish people worship and what they do at the Sabbath dinner. The narrator leaves politely shortly after his mother comes home.
On the first day of school, shortly after school lets out, the narrator and Friedrich's families both have a day out at the amusement park. However, since the narrator's and his family are poor, they are helpless to Schneider's generosity, which makes them feel even poorer. When the narrator's father finally jumps at the chance to buy them all photos and licorice, the family has to go without lunch as his father had used all the lunch money at the amusement park.
Friedrich and Hans see that Friedrich's doctor, Doctor Askenase, has the word "Jew" scrawled over his sign. They go to tell the doctor, but he claims he already knows. Later, they see a crowd of people outside a shop, so they push through and see a man with a swastika on his arm and a sign stating "Don't buy from Jews" blocking the door. However, an old lady pushes past the man saying she wants to buy from the shop and everyone stares at her. The old lady later emerged from the shop and proudly strode away.
The Narrator and Friedrich attend a Hitler Youth camp. The leader explains why the Jews are Germany's enemy. While every other youth can repeat this mantra with no problem, Friedrich finds it hard to repeat. This is the first time Friedrich discovers Hitler's hatred for Jews. He is devastated. He runs out, and Hans is left watching.
The narrator and Friedrich were playing with a ball when Hans accidentally threw it into a shopkeeper's window, breaking it. A crowd gathers around. The woman accuses Friedrich of breaking her shop window and trying to steal and insulted him for being a Jew. Hans immediately confessed to breaking her window and denied that Friedrich was trying to steal. The woman disbelieved him. Someone had called the police, and the woman explained the attempted 'burglary' of her shop, while Hans defended Friedrich. Then, Herr Schneider came and the woman explained the situation to him, leaving out her insinuation about Jews. Herr Schneider agreed to pay her for the damage, if the police let Friedrich free.
Herr Resch confronts Herr Schneider on the house's stairwell and asks them to leave, calling the Narrator's Father to bear witness. Hans' father denied. Herr Schneider reminds Herr Resch of the tenant's agreement, but Herr Resch doesn't care. Herr Schneider begs for time to find another apartment.
The narrator and Friedrich sat at the curb outside their house. Friedrich explains some math problems. The street was empty. Far off, a man was walking. He slowly became closer. The approaching man was a drunk Herr Schneider. Friedrich pulls him across the sidewalk. Herr Schneider doesn't say hello back to him. He kept his eyes lowered and tears were running down his face. Herr Schneider and Friedrich disappeared inside the house while the narrator stood outside. The narrator's mother asks Frau Schneider about what happens to Herr Schneider. Frau Schneider drops down and cries loudly and violently. It takes a while for Frau Schneider to calm down. Frau Schneider then proceeds to say that Herr Schneider loses his job because of his religion. Herr Schneider was forced out of his job at the age of 32.
Herr Resch sues Herr Schneider and tries to kick him out of the apartment/evict him just because he is causing a "disturbance". In the court, the attorney of Herr Resch reveals that Herr Schneider is a Jew. However, Herr Schneider also reveals that he lived in Herr Resch's house for ten years and Herr Resch did not find anything wrong with that until a short time ago. In the end, Herr Schneider is allowed to continue staying in the house. At this point, Friedrich suddenly cries out. The judge calls Friedrich up and assured him that he will see that justice is done.
Cabaret is an American musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by Joe Masteroff. It is based on the 1951 play I Am a Camera by John Van Druten, which in turn was based on the 1939 novel Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood.
"The Chanukah Song" is a novelty song written by comedian Adam Sandler with Saturday Night Live writers Lewis Morton and Ian Maxtone-Graham and originally performed by Sandler on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update on December 3, 1994. Sandler subsequently performed the song as part of his stand-up act, later updating it with new lyrics. All variations center on the theme of Hanukkah and of religious Jewish children feeling alienated during the Christmas season, and Sandler's listing of Jewish celebrities as a way of sympathizing with their situation.
My Name Is Asher Lev is a novel by Chaim Potok, an American author and rabbi. The book's protagonist is Asher Lev, a Hasidic Jewish boy in New York City. Asher is a loner with artistic inclinations. His art, however, causes conflicts with his family and other members of his community. The book follows Asher's maturity as both an artist and a Jew.
Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, or The Merry Wives of Windsor, is an 1849 opera in three acts by Otto Nicolai to a German libretto by Salomon Hermann Mosenthal based on Shakespeare's play. Published as a comical-fantastical work in three acts with dance (komisch-phantastische Oper in 3 Akten mit Tanz), its structure is musical numbers linked by spoken dialogue, harkening back to the then-outmoded Singspiel format. It remains popular in Germany and Austria and its overture is sometimes heard in concert in other countries.
Dora is the pseudonym given by Sigmund Freud to a patient whom he diagnosed with hysteria, and treated for about eleven weeks in 1900. Her most manifest hysterical symptom was aphonia, or loss of voice. The patient's real name was Ida Bauer (1882–1945); her brother Otto Bauer was a leading member of the Austro-Marxist movement.
Die Legende von Paul und Paula is a 1973 tragicomic East German film directed by Heiner Carow. A novel by Ulrich Plenzdorf named Die Legende vom Glück ohne Ende was based on this film.
Es geschah am hellichten Tag is a 1958 German-language thriller film directed by Ladislao Vajda. The original screenplay was written by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, a Swiss playwright and novelist, and the first incarnation of the film is still acclaimed by critics.
A Woman in Berlin is a memoir by German journalist Marta Hillers, originally released anonymously in 1954. The identity of Hillers as the author was not revealed until 2003, after her death. The memoir covers the period between 20 April and 22 June 1945 in Berlin during the capture and occupation of the city by the Red Army. The work depicts the widespread rape of civilians by Soviet soldiers, including the rape of the author. It also looks at a woman's pragmatic approach to survival, which involved relying on Soviet officers for protection.
End of the Game is a 1975 DeLuxe Color German mystery thriller film directed by Maximilian Schell, and starring Jon Voight, Jacqueline Bisset, Martin Ritt and Robert Shaw. Co-written by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, the film is an adaptation of his 1950 crime novella The Judge and His Hangman. Dürrenmatt also appears in the film, while Donald Sutherland plays the role of the corpse of Schmied.
Emil and the Detectives is a 1931 German adventure film directed by Gerhard Lamprecht and starring Rolf Wenkhaus. It is based on the 1929 novel by Erich Kästner, who also contributed to the film's script. The film script was written by Billy Wilder. It is generally considered to be the best film adaption of Emil and the Detectives.
The Cold Room is a 1984 cable television film by James Dearden.
The Tenderness of Wolves is a 1973 West German crime drama film directed by Ulli Lommel. The story is based on the crimes of German serial killer and cannibal Fritz Haarmann. It was written by Kurt Raab, who also stars in the film, and produced by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. It was entered into the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival.
Mr Emmanuel is a 1944 British drama film directed by Harold French and starring Felix Aylmer, Greta Gynt and Walter Rilla.
The Book Thief is a 2013 war drama film directed by Brian Percival and starring Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, and Sophie Nélisse. The film is based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Markus Zusak and adapted by Michael Petroni. The film is about a young girl living with her adoptive German family during the Nazi era. Taught to read by her kind-hearted foster father, the girl begins "borrowing" books and sharing them with the Jewish refugee being sheltered by her foster parents in their home. The film features a musical score by Oscar-winning composer John Williams.
The Forest for the Trees is a 2003 German film directed by Maren Ade in her feature film directorial debut.
Maike Kohl-Richter is best known as the second wife of the former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl from 2008 until his death in 2017. She is controversial in Germany for her right-wing anti-immigrant views and support for Viktor Orbán, and for her public feud with Kohl's children and grandchildren. She has been accused of hijacking the Kohl legacy and "has been criticized by Kohl's own children for allegedly hero-worshipping the former chancellor and being obsessed" with him. She was criticized by German media, public figures and the Kohl family after Kohl's death.
Love Conquers All is a 1934 German comedy film directed by Georg Zoch and starring Trude Marlen, Susi Lanner, and Jakob Tiedtke.
The Invisibles is a 2017 German docudrama film co-written, co-produced and directed by Claus Räfle. The film presents the experience of four Jewish teenagers who survived the Holocaust by going into hiding in Berlin during World War II. It interweaves personal interviews, dramatic reenactment, archival footage, and narration. The main actors are Max Mauff, Alice Dwyer, Ruby O. Fee and Aaron Altaras.
Friedrich Koffka was a German lawyer and writer.
