Der Wehrwolf
| File:Der Wehrwolf - Hermann Löns (1910).jpg
First edition, 1910
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| Author | Hermann Löns |
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| Original title | Der Wehrwolf |
| Translator | Robert Kvinnesland |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
| Subject | Harm Wulf |
| Genre | novel |
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Publication date
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1910 |
Der Wehrwolf (English: Werewolf; a portmanteau combining the words for "defence" and "wolf" to Wehrwolf in the German language - c.f. Werwolf, "werewolf", usually translated into English as Warwolf) is a novel by journalist Hermann Löns, first published in 1910.[1]
Plot summary
The Thirty Years' War is at its height and the peasantry suffers under countless marauders, which roam the lands. The main protagonist Harm Wulf, a peasant, already lost his family in the first years of war and becomes the defending Wulf (wehrender Wulf) by defending a hill fort and its surrounding carr, where some local peasants hide from the pillaging hordes. Harm Wulf gathers more and more allies until 121 men are in the Alliance of the Wehrwolf. When peace is finally restored Harm Wulf is an old and grim man.
Reception
Der Wehrwolf became a bestseller in Nazi Germany and was widely used for the purposes of Nazi propaganda, because its content could be interpreted as nationalistic fervor. Near the end of World War II Luftwaffenhelfer and children in the Hitler Youth were constrained to read the novel to promote guerrilla warfare against the allies (to act like a We(h)rwolf[2]). Because of that, the book was indexed for a short time after the war.
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