Five German fairy tales  And they lived happily ever after

Once upon a time – there was an ancient text form that can be found in all cultures. These fantastic stories were so important that they were even recognised as intangible cultural heritage in Germany in 2016. About five German fairy tales that still live on our bookshelves today.

Kinder- und Hausmärchen – Brüder Grimm

When you think of fairy tales, the first thing that comes to mind is the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm – and the author is by no means saying this because of the obvious relationship between their names. The Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children's and household tales) of the brothers – colloquially known as Grimm's Fairy Tales – have had a significant influence on our idea of the fairy tale genre to this day. From 1812, the brothers brought together and revised many of the most important popular stories in this collection. It contains over 200 stories, all of which have been numbered consecutively by literary researchers – the story of Cinderella, for example, bears the less fairytale-like name KHM 21.

Der Sandmann – E.T.A Hoffmann

Published in 1816, this tale may evoke long-repressed memories of exams in German lessons for some. Der Sandmann (The Sandman) by E.T.A. Hoffmann is actually worth a second look. It is also a fairy tale, or to be more precise: an art fairy tale. Unlike the collection by the Brothers Grimm, these fairy tales can be attributed to one author; they are not traditional folk tales. Today's horror fans can be grateful to Hoffmann, as Der Sandmann is regarded as a key precursor to the horror story – the motif it contains of the relationship between man and machine could hardly be more topical.

Der Dichter – Hermann Hesse

The name Hermann Hesse is primarily associated with his prose works such as Der Steppenwolf (Steppenwolf) and Narziss und Goldmund (Narcissus and Goldmund). However, the German-Swiss Nobel Prize winner also wrote numerous fairy tales. One of them is called Der Dichter (The Poet). It is about the journey and self-discovery of the Chinese poet Han Fook. Without this work, published in 1919, there would perhaps be no Siddartha or Das Glasperlenspiel (The Glass Bead Game) – Hesse took up some of the motifs that appear in the fairy tale in his well-known texts.

Momo – Michael Ende

One of the best-known books for young people is actually a fairy tale – in other words, a fictionalised story with no specific time or place. At well over 200 pages, Momo by Michael Ende is quite long for a fairy tale, which is why it is often referred to as a “fairy tale novel”. Anyone who doesn't have enough time to read the book, which was first published in 1973, should rely on the eponymous protagonist: she fights against the theft of time by the grey lords.

Die Kinder in der Erde – Gudrun Pausewang

With her novels Die letzten Kinder von Schwewenborn (The Last Children of Schewenborn) and Die Wolke (The Cloud), Gudrun Pausewang wrote in favour of peace, the environment and young people in the wake of the nuclear arms race and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Die Kinder in der Erde (The Children in the Earth), a fairy tale penned by the multi-award-winning author of children's and young adult books, could hardly be less socially relevant: children rebel against adults who do too little to stop the destruction of the environment. Incidentally, it was not just published in recent years, but as early as 1988.

November 2024