F. K. Waechter
Encyclopedia
Friedrich Karl Waechter (3 November 1937 in Danzig – 16 September 2005 in Frankfurt
) was a renowned German
cartoonist, author, and playwright.
and settled in Sahms (Schleswig-Holstein).
Waechter attended the Lauenburg Scholar School in Ratzeburg, where his graphic talents became apparent. He then studied graphic art in Hamburg. In 1962, he moved to Frankfurt
and took a job drawing cartoons in an advertisement magazine Die Zeit. His work attracted the attention of the editors of the soon-to-be satire magazine, Pardon. They gave Waechter a preliminary copy and asked for his suggestions. Waechter's constructive criticism earned him a job with the fledgling magazine.
While at Pardon, he co-founded the New Frankfurt School, a group of eminent comic writers and cartoonists. The name was a play on the Frankfurt School
of Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer
. The group included Robert Gernhardt
, F.W. Bernstein, Bernd Eilert, Eckhard Henscheid, F.W. Ambers, Peter Gnarl, Hans Traxler, and Chlodwig Poth. Their work celebrated subversive nonsense, typified by Pardon's regular "Welt in Spiegel" ("In the Mirror") feature.
Waechter became a father and, by 1970, began writing children's books. Many of these encouraged the reader to complete puzzles and drawings, write in the book, cut it up, or otherwise participate in the story. The books appealed to both children and adults and showcased his artistic talents: simple yet expressive cartoons, carefully cross-hatched pen and ink, collage, and realistic paintings. He would write some forty books throughout his life. They are typified by Anti-Struwwwelpeter ("Anti-Strawpeter," a parody of Heinrich Hoffman
's popular German children's book, Struwwelpeter
), Die Schoepfung (Waechter's re-telling of Biblical creation), and Der Kronenklauer ("The Crown Snatchers
," an anti-authoritarian fable).
In 1979 he co-founded Titanic, another satirical magazine. His cartoons featured regularly until 1992, when he began focusing on teaching, writing books, and writing and directing plays.
Waechter's final work was Vollmond ("Full Moon"), a fantastic tale of a space journey. He completed it while undergoing treatment for lung cancer
. He died on September 16, 2005 at the age of 67, leaving behind a wife and three sons.
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
) was a renowned German
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...
cartoonist, author, and playwright.
Life
Waechter was born in Danzig as a son of a teacher. His family fled over the Baltic Sea after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and settled in Sahms (Schleswig-Holstein).
Waechter attended the Lauenburg Scholar School in Ratzeburg, where his graphic talents became apparent. He then studied graphic art in Hamburg. In 1962, he moved to Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
and took a job drawing cartoons in an advertisement magazine Die Zeit. His work attracted the attention of the editors of the soon-to-be satire magazine, Pardon. They gave Waechter a preliminary copy and asked for his suggestions. Waechter's constructive criticism earned him a job with the fledgling magazine.
While at Pardon, he co-founded the New Frankfurt School, a group of eminent comic writers and cartoonists. The name was a play on the Frankfurt School
Frankfurt School
The Frankfurt School refers to a school of neo-Marxist interdisciplinary social theory, particularly associated with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt am Main...
of Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer
Max Horkheimer
Max Horkheimer was a German-Jewish philosopher-sociologist, famous for his work in critical theory as a member of the 'Frankfurt School' of social research. His most important works include The Eclipse of Reason and, in collaboration with Theodor Adorno, The Dialectic of Enlightenment...
. The group included Robert Gernhardt
Robert Gernhardt
Robert Gernhardt was a German writer, painter, caricaturist and poet.-Life:Robert Gernhardt studied Painting and German in Stuttgart and Berlin. He was one of the regular contributors to the satirical magazine Pardon, where he did the section Welt im Spiegel together with F. K. Waechter and F. W...
, F.W. Bernstein, Bernd Eilert, Eckhard Henscheid, F.W. Ambers, Peter Gnarl, Hans Traxler, and Chlodwig Poth. Their work celebrated subversive nonsense, typified by Pardon's regular "Welt in Spiegel" ("In the Mirror") feature.
Waechter became a father and, by 1970, began writing children's books. Many of these encouraged the reader to complete puzzles and drawings, write in the book, cut it up, or otherwise participate in the story. The books appealed to both children and adults and showcased his artistic talents: simple yet expressive cartoons, carefully cross-hatched pen and ink, collage, and realistic paintings. He would write some forty books throughout his life. They are typified by Anti-Struwwwelpeter ("Anti-Strawpeter," a parody of Heinrich Hoffman
Heinrich Hoffman
Heinrich Hoffman was born on December 23, 1836. He served in the American Civil War, and was a Medal of Honor Recipient. He served as a Corporal in the Union Army in Company M, 2nd Ohio Cavalry. He received the Medal of Honor for action on April 6, 1865 at the Battle of Sayler's Creek, Virginia.He...
's popular German children's book, Struwwelpeter
Struwwelpeter
Der Struwwelpeter is a popular German children's book by Heinrich Hoffmann. It comprises ten illustrated and rhymed stories, mostly about children. Each has a clear moral that demonstrates the disastrous consequences of misbehavior in an exaggerated way. The title of the first story provides the...
), Die Schoepfung (Waechter's re-telling of Biblical creation), and Der Kronenklauer ("The Crown Snatchers
The Crown Snatchers
The Crown Snatchers is a self-described "superstorybook" written by German authors F. K. Waechter and Bernd Eilert. It is the English translation of Die Kronenklauer, which was first published in 1972 by Rowohlt Verlag in Germany. Two years later, Pantheon Books and Random House of Canada, Ltd...
," an anti-authoritarian fable).
In 1979 he co-founded Titanic, another satirical magazine. His cartoons featured regularly until 1992, when he began focusing on teaching, writing books, and writing and directing plays.
Waechter's final work was Vollmond ("Full Moon"), a fantastic tale of a space journey. He completed it while undergoing treatment for lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
. He died on September 16, 2005 at the age of 67, leaving behind a wife and three sons.
Honors
- 1975: Deutscher JugendliteraturpreisDeutscher JugendliteraturpreisThe Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's literature. It is Germany's only state-funded literary award. In the past, authors from many countries...
for Wir können noch viel zusammen machen - 1983: Brüder-Grimm-Preis des Landes Berlin
- 1993: Hessischer Kulturpreis
- 1999: Deutscher JugendliteraturpreisDeutscher JugendliteraturpreisThe Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's literature. It is Germany's only state-funded literary award. In the past, authors from many countries...
for Der rote Wolf - 2003: Alex-Wedding-Preis
- 2003: Preis der Binding-Kulturstiftung
Books
- Ich bin der Größte, 1966 (Frankfurt am Main: Bärmeier & Nikel)
- Die Wahrheit über Arnold Hau, 1966 (with F. W. Bernstein and Robert GernhardtRobert GernhardtRobert Gernhardt was a German writer, painter, caricaturist and poet.-Life:Robert Gernhardt studied Painting and German in Stuttgart and Berlin. He was one of the regular contributors to the satirical magazine Pardon, where he did the section Welt im Spiegel together with F. K. Waechter and F. W...
). - Der kleine Zweckermann, 1969 (Frankfurt am Main: Bärmeier & Nikel)
- Der Anti-Struwwelpeter, 1970
- Die KronenklauerThe Crown SnatchersThe Crown Snatchers is a self-described "superstorybook" written by German authors F. K. Waechter and Bernd Eilert. It is the English translation of Die Kronenklauer, which was first published in 1972 by Rowohlt Verlag in Germany. Two years later, Pantheon Books and Random House of Canada, Ltd...
, 1972 (with Bernd Eilert) - Tischlein deck dich und Knüppel aus dem Sack, 1972 (Subtitle: Ein neues Märchen)
- Brülle ich zum Fenster raus, 1973
- Wir können noch viel zusammen machen, 1973 (picture book)
- So dumm waren die Hebräer, 1973
- Das Ungeheuer-Spiel, 1975
- Opa Huckes Mitmach-Kabinett, 1976
- Schule mit Clowns, Der Teufel mit den drei goldenen Haaren, Pustekuchen (1975/76 Ellermann Verlag, Verlag der Autoren)
- Die Bauern im Brunnen, 1978
- Wahrscheinlich guckt wieder kein Schwein, 1978
- Kiebich und Dutz, 1979
- Die Reise, 1980 (Subtitle: Eine schrecklich schöne Bildergeschichte, "A Terribly Beautiful Picture History")
- Es lebe die Freihei..., 1981 ISBN 325700303X
- Fühlmäuse, 1981
- Wer kommt mit auf die Lofoten?, 1982
- Das Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland, 1982
- Männer auf verlorenem Posten, 1983
- Nur den Kopf nicht hängen lassen, 1983
- Glückliche Stunde, 1986
- Die Mondtücher, 1988
- Mich wundert, daß ich fröhlich bin, 1991
- Die letzten Dinge, 1992
- Da bin ich, 1997
- F. K. Waechters Erzähltheater, 1997
- Der rote Wolf, 1998
- Mein 1. Glas Bier, 1998
- Der Kleine im Glaspott, 1999
- Die Geschichte vom albernen Hans, 2000
- Der Frosch und das Mädchen, 2000
- Steinhauers Fuß, 2001
- Die Schöpfung, 2002
- Waechter, 2002
- Prinz Hamlet, 2005
- Vollmond, 2005
Plays (Selection)
- Die Beinemacher (1974)
- Der Teufel mit den drei goldenen Haaren (1975)
- Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten (1977)
- Die Reise nach Aschenfeld (1984)
- Ausflug mit Clowns (1985)
- F. K. Waechters Ixypsilonzett (1990)
- Die letzten Dinge (1992)
- Die Eisprinzessin (1993, in two versions)
- Prinz Hamlet (1995)
- Lysistrata (after AristophanesAristophanesAristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
, 1997) - Die Aschenputtler ( 1998)
- Tristan und Isolde (2002)
- Karneval der Tiere (2002)
- Der Narr des Königs (Kwast) (2003)
Criticism
- Die schärfsten Kritiker der Elche. Die Neue Frankfurter Schule in Wort und Strich und Bild, Oliver Maria Schmitt, Berlin: Alexander Fest Verlag 2001. ISBN 3-8286-0109-X