Die Feuerzangenbowle
Encyclopedia
Die Feuerzangenbowle is a German
book, later adapted into several films, which tells the story of a famous writer going undercover as a pupil at a small town gymnasium
after his friends tell him that he missed out on the best part of growing up by being educated at home
. The story in the book takes place during the Weimar Republic
in Germany
. The novel by Heinrich Spoerl
was published in 1933
and was adapted to film three times. The 1944
movie of the same name directed by Helmut Weiss is the most notable adaptation of the material. This German comedy classic was one of the last big movie productions in Germany before the end of the Nazi era and has gained cult status at German universities since the 1980s.
. The book adopts ideas from Ernst Eckstein
’s Der Besuch im Karzer (published 1875
) and was partly inspired by personal accounts of Spoerl’s own schooldays as well as his son’s pranks at school. The first edition was published in 1933 by Droste Verlag.
On march 12th, 2010, the Landgericht Hamburg (county court) has ruled that Hans Reimann is not co-author of the novel. The fact that Spoerl shared his royalties with Reimann is in no way to be considered as proof of a co-authorship. The court decided that the publishing contract on the novel, signed by Spoerl alone, clearly indicates his exclusive authorship.
punch consumed by a group of gentlemen in the opening scene. While exchanging nostalgic stories about their schooldays, the successful young writer Dr. Johannes Pfeiffer realizes he missed out on something because he was taught at home and never attended school. He decides to make up for it by masquerading as a student at a small town high school and quickly gains a reputation as a prankster. Together with his classmates, he torments his professors Crey, Bömmel and Headmaster Knauer with adolescent mischief. His girlfriend Marion unsuccessfully tries to persuade him to give up his foolish charade. Eventually, he falls in love with the headmaster’s daughter and discloses his identity after provoking the teachers into expelling him from school.
in Berlin
who never attended regular school as he was educated at home. His friends' nostalgic recollections of their schooldays convince him that he missed out on something and he decides to go undercover as a gymnasium
student in the fictional small town Babenberg. He introduces himself as Hans Pfeiffer “with three F – one before and two after the ei” and quickly gets into the habit of playing elaborate pranks on his teachers.
parodies of different teaching styles. Professors Bömmel and Crey represent liberal
and democratic
teaching styles respectively, but neither has much luck in gaining the students’ respect. This feat is reserved for teacher Brett who does not appear in the book but was added to the 1944 movie to represent the authoritarian
style popularized at the time. The teachers' exaggerated individual quirks and particularly their dialect
s set them up to be easy targets for imitation and ridicule by the students. Some have acquired nicknames based on their looks. Headmaster Knauer, for example, is known as "Zeus
" among the students, whereas Professor Crey is referred to as "Schnauz" (mustache).
."
Theater:
Musical:
Culture of Germany
German culture began long before the rise of Germany as a nation-state and spanned the entire German-speaking world. From its roots, culture in Germany has been shaped by major intellectual and popular currents in Europe, both religious and secular...
book, later adapted into several films, which tells the story of a famous writer going undercover as a pupil at a small town gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
after his friends tell him that he missed out on the best part of growing up by being educated at home
Homeschooling
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
. The story in the book takes place during the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The novel by Heinrich Spoerl
Heinrich Spoerl
-Biography:Heinrich Christian Johann Spoerl was born on 8 February 1887 in Düsseldorf where he also grew up. He studied jurisprudence in Marburg, Berlin and Munich and was a solicitor in Düsseldorf from 1919 till 1937. He became a full-time writer in 1937 when he moved to Berlin which he left in...
was published in 1933
1933 in literature
The year 1933 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* February 17 - The magazine Newsweek is published for the first time.* James Joyce's Ulysses is allowed into United States.-New books:...
and was adapted to film three times. The 1944
1944 in film
The year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
movie of the same name directed by Helmut Weiss is the most notable adaptation of the material. This German comedy classic was one of the last big movie productions in Germany before the end of the Nazi era and has gained cult status at German universities since the 1980s.
Novel
The book Die Feuerzangenbowle: Eine Lausbüberei in der Kleinstadt was written by Heinrich SpoerlHeinrich Spoerl
-Biography:Heinrich Christian Johann Spoerl was born on 8 February 1887 in Düsseldorf where he also grew up. He studied jurisprudence in Marburg, Berlin and Munich and was a solicitor in Düsseldorf from 1919 till 1937. He became a full-time writer in 1937 when he moved to Berlin which he left in...
. The book adopts ideas from Ernst Eckstein
Ernst Eckstein
Ernst Eckstein was a German humorist, novelist and poet.-Biography:From the university he went to Paris, and there completed his comic epos, Check to the Queen , and wrote Paris Silhouettes , the grotesque night-piece The Varzin Ghosts and the Mute of Seville...
’s Der Besuch im Karzer (published 1875
1875 in literature
The year 1875 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*October 1 - American poet and short story writer Edgar Allan Poe is reburied in Westminster Hall and Burying Ground with a larger memorial marker. Some controversy arose years later as to whether the correct body was exhumed.*...
) and was partly inspired by personal accounts of Spoerl’s own schooldays as well as his son’s pranks at school. The first edition was published in 1933 by Droste Verlag.
On march 12th, 2010, the Landgericht Hamburg (county court) has ruled that Hans Reimann is not co-author of the novel. The fact that Spoerl shared his royalties with Reimann is in no way to be considered as proof of a co-authorship. The court decided that the publishing contract on the novel, signed by Spoerl alone, clearly indicates his exclusive authorship.
Plot summary
The title refers to the FeuerzangenbowleFeuerzangenbowle
is a traditional German alcoholic drink for which a rum-soaked sugarloaf is set on fire and drips into mulled wine. It is often part of a Christmas or New Year's Eve tradition. The name translates literally to fire-tongs punch....
punch consumed by a group of gentlemen in the opening scene. While exchanging nostalgic stories about their schooldays, the successful young writer Dr. Johannes Pfeiffer realizes he missed out on something because he was taught at home and never attended school. He decides to make up for it by masquerading as a student at a small town high school and quickly gains a reputation as a prankster. Together with his classmates, he torments his professors Crey, Bömmel and Headmaster Knauer with adolescent mischief. His girlfriend Marion unsuccessfully tries to persuade him to give up his foolish charade. Eventually, he falls in love with the headmaster’s daughter and discloses his identity after provoking the teachers into expelling him from school.
Hans Pfeiffer
Dr. Johannes Pfeiffer is an accomplished playwrightPlaywright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
who never attended regular school as he was educated at home. His friends' nostalgic recollections of their schooldays convince him that he missed out on something and he decides to go undercover as a gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
student in the fictional small town Babenberg. He introduces himself as Hans Pfeiffer “with three F – one before and two after the ei” and quickly gets into the habit of playing elaborate pranks on his teachers.
The teachers
The teachers in the story are stereotypicStereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
parodies of different teaching styles. Professors Bömmel and Crey represent liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
teaching styles respectively, but neither has much luck in gaining the students’ respect. This feat is reserved for teacher Brett who does not appear in the book but was added to the 1944 movie to represent the authoritarian
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...
style popularized at the time. The teachers' exaggerated individual quirks and particularly their dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
s set them up to be easy targets for imitation and ridicule by the students. Some have acquired nicknames based on their looks. Headmaster Knauer, for example, is known as "Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
" among the students, whereas Professor Crey is referred to as "Schnauz" (mustache).
The women
Two women play central roles in the story and Pfeiffer’s life. Pfeiffer’s lover Marion is a modern and self-assured "big city girl." She travels to Babenberg to try to convince Pfeiffer of the foolishness of his actions and bring him back to Berlin. Pfeiffer declines and she threatens to blow his cover. This makes her the "bad girl" of the story in accordance with the ideologies of the times reproving emancipated and "sinful" women like Marion. She eventually loses Pfeiffer when he falls in love with innocent blonde Eva, Headmaster Knauer’s daughter, who embodies the ideal image of a proper "girl next doorGirl next door
The cultural and sexual stereotype of the girl next door or the All-American girl is invoked in American contexts to indicate wholesome, unassuming femininity, as opposed to the culture's other female stereotypes such as the tomboy, the valley girl, the femme fatale, girly girl, or the slut. The...
."
Adaptations
The novel has been adapted into three films:- 19341934 in film-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
- So ein FlegelSo ein FlegelSo ein Flegel is a German film based on the novel Die Feuerzangenbowle. It modifies the story by introducing the concept of two brothers Pfeiffer switching places: While the younger brother takes over his elder brother’s job, the older brother attends the younger one’s school... - 19441944 in filmThe year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
- Die FeuerzangenbowleDie Feuerzangenbowle (1944 film)is a 1944 German film, directed by Helmut Weiss and is based on the book of the same name. It follows the book closely as its author, Heinrich Spoerl, also wrote the script for the movie... - 19701970 in filmThe year 1970 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 9 - Larry Fine, the second member of The Three Stooges, suffers a massive stroke, therefore ending his career....
- Die FeuerzangenbowleDie Feuerzangenbowle (1970 film)Die Feuerzangenbowle is a 1970 film based on the book of the same name. This version of was part of a number of 1970s movies concentrating on the theme of modernizing the school system. It was much less successful than its predecessors.-Cast:...
Theater:
- Düsseldorf-Bilk, 2004
- Coburger Landestheater, 2006
Musical:
- Neu-Isenburg, 2004