Heiner Müller, Der Lohndrücker [The Scab]

John Milfull (University of New South Wales)
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Heiner Müller's “first play”,

Der Lohndrücker,

written in collaboration with Inge Müller in 1956, consists of 15 short scenes set in a newly nationalised foundry in the GDR in 1948/9. It presents the conflicts surrounding the attempts of a “model worker” and activist, Balke, to improve productivity and develop innovative practices in restoring the furnances of the damaged and run down plant so that it can contribute to post-war recovery. Balke has to struggle not only with the scepticism and hostility of his fellow-workers, a motley crew including status-conscious engineers, opportunists, former Nazis, crooks and layabouts, but with the deep suspicion of the party secretary Schorn, whose attempts to sabotage arms production during the Third Reich Balke revealed to the Nazi…

1302 words

Citation: Milfull, John. "Der Lohndrücker". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 February 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=14462, accessed 19 March 2024.]

14462 Der Lohndrücker 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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