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 tales and fables have not lost their
spirit and significance.
