Siegfried Lenz, Deutschstunde [German Lesson]

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Siegfried Lenz's colourful novel

Deutschstunde

[

German Lesson

, 1968] was a huge and immediate success in the German Federal Republic, and has, in the meantime, been translated into 24 languages. A film adaptation (dir.: Peter Beauvais) was released by German television in 1971. The novel's plot line is inspired by the biography of the German expressionist painter Emil Nolde (1867-1956, Nolde's real name was Emil Hansen) – named Max Ludwig Nansen in the novel – who is highly regarded today, but was banned from painting during the “Third Reich”. Lenz indicated that with the first name of his character, Max Ludwig, he wanted to allude to many other artists who were victims of persecution, such as Max Beckmann or Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. The novel examines fear and oppression through a…

2155 words

Citation: Schweissinger, Marc J.. "Deutschstunde". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 September 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16924, accessed 19 March 2024.]

16924 Deutschstunde 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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