This book is a collection of traditional German fairy tales and fables, deliberately transformed into utopian narratives and social commentary by political activists in the Weimar Republic (1919-1933). Against a backdrop of financial and political instability, widespread homelessness, and the reformation of public institutions, numerous gifted writers such as Berta Lask, Kurt Schwitters, Hermynia zur Mühlen, Oskar Maria Graf, Bruno Schönlank, and Joachim Ringelnatz responded to the need for hope among the common people by creating fairy tales and fables that offered a new and critical vision of social conditions. Though many of their tales deal with the grim situation of common people and their apparent helplessness, they are founded on the principle of hope. This revised edition includes over 50 illustrations by contemporary international artists who reveal how similar the Weimar conditions were to the conditions in which we presently live. In this respect, the Weimar fairy talesand fables have not lost their spirit and significance.
"Zipes's collection is a marvellous book, one which will appeal to both the general reader and those working on fairy tales or those researching the Weimar Republic or German intellectual life before the outbreak of the Second World War." (Paul Quinn, Gramarye, Issue 17, 2020)
"This collection of thirty literary stories in the genre of fairy tales, assembled and translated by Jack Zipes, offers a good read to anyone who enjoys stories. ... This collection of stories is enjoyable also because of the smooth translations. ... The tales collected and presented in this volume are important for scholars of literature as well as of folktales, fairy tales, and fables. The volume is also meant for the simple pleasure of reading inspiring stories" (Sadhana Naithani, Journal of Folklore Research, April, 2019)
"Its creative wave of tales, some playful, some ironic, some wrenchingly utopian, speaks directly to the world we find ourselves in today." (Jo Radner, Storytelling Magazine, 2018)
"This collection of thirty literary stories in the genre of fairy tales, assembled and translated by Jack Zipes, offers a good read to anyone who enjoys stories. ... This collection of stories is enjoyable also because of the smooth translations. ... The tales collected and presented in this volume are important for scholars of literature as well as of folktales, fairy tales, and fables. The volume is also meant for the simple pleasure of reading inspiring stories" (Sadhana Naithani, Journal of Folklore Research, April, 2019)
"Its creative wave of tales, some playful, some ironic, some wrenchingly utopian, speaks directly to the world we find ourselves in today." (Jo Radner, Storytelling Magazine, 2018)