Hans Fallada facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hans Fallada
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| Born |
Rudolf Wilhelm Friedrich Ditzen
21 July 1893 |
| Died | 5 February 1947 (aged 53) Berlin, Germany
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| Occupation | Writer |
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Hans Fallada (German: [hans ˈfa.la.da]) was the pen name of Rudolf Wilhelm Friedrich Ditzen. He was a German writer who lived from 1893 to 1947. He is known for his novels that show what life was like in Germany during the early 20th century.
His most famous books include Little Man, What Now? (1932) and Every Man Dies Alone (1947). Fallada's writing style was often called "New Objectivity." This means he wrote in a very factual way, focusing on details without showing much emotion.
His pen name, Fallada, comes from two characters in Grimm's Fairy Tales. Hans is from Hans in Luck, and Falada is the magical talking horse from The Goose Girl.
Contents
Hans Fallada's Early Life
Hans Fallada was born in Greifswald, Germany, in 1893. His father was a judge, and his mother loved music and books. His father often read stories aloud to Fallada and his siblings. They enjoyed works by famous writers like Shakespeare.
In 1899, when Fallada was six, his family moved to Berlin. He found school quite difficult at first. Because of this, he spent a lot of time reading books. He preferred books by authors like Flaubert and Dickens over stories meant for his age. In 1909, his family moved again to Leipzig. This was because his father got a new job at the Imperial Supreme Court.
Writing Career and the Nazi Era
Fallada started his writing career in 1920. His first book was called Der junge Goedeschal ("Young Goedeschal"). He also worked on farms to support himself. He no longer wanted to rely on his father for money.
In 1929, Fallada married Anna "Suse" Issel. He also started working as a journalist for newspapers. His novels began to talk about the social and economic problems in Germany.
Early Success and Political Novels
His first big success came in 1930 with A Small Circus. This book was about farmers protesting in Schleswig-Holstein. It showed that Fallada was a talented writer who wasn't afraid to discuss difficult topics.
His most famous book, Little Man, What Now?, was published in 1932. This book became a huge success and helped him with his money problems. However, he also felt very worried about the rise of National Socialism, also known as the Nazis.
Life Under Nazi Rule
Even though his books weren't directly against the Nazis, he was watched closely. Many other writers were arrested. In 1933, the secret police, called the Gestapo, arrested him. They thought he was doing things against the Nazis. But they found no proof, and he was released a week later.
After Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, Fallada had to make some changes to his books. For example, a bad character who was a Nazi had to be changed to a soccer hooligan. This helped his books stay in print for a while.
Little Man, What Now? became a bestseller in the United States and Great Britain. It was even made into a Hollywood movie in 1934. This success was a comfort to Fallada during a difficult time.
In 2016, a complete version of Little Man, What Now? was published in Germany. It included about 100 pages that had been cut from the original 1932 edition. These restored parts added more "color and atmosphere" to the story.
Challenges and Compromises
In 1935, Fallada was officially called an "undesirable author." This meant his work could not be translated or published outside Germany. This made his financial situation worse. His writing then became more about earning money than artistic expression. He started writing "children's stories and harmless fairy tales" to avoid trouble with the Nazis.
He thought about leaving Germany, but he loved his home country too much. He once told a friend, "I could never write in another language, nor live in any other place than Germany."
In 1937, his serious novel Wolf Among Wolves was published. The Nazis actually liked this book because they thought it criticized the previous German government. Even Joseph Goebbels, a high-ranking Nazi official, called it "a super book." This attention led to more pressure on Fallada. Goebbels wanted him to write an anti-Jewish book. He also asked Fallada to write a novel for a state-sponsored film.
The book for the film was Iron Gustav. It showed the difficulties of World War I. But Goebbels wanted Fallada to extend the story to include the Nazis as heroes. Fallada eventually gave in to this pressure. He also added special introductions to some of his books. These introductions said that the events in his books happened before the Nazis came to power. This was to please the Nazi authorities.
By the end of 1938, Fallada decided not to leave Germany. His British publisher had even sent a private boat to help him and his family escape. But Fallada decided to stay.
World War II and Later Life
During World War II, life became even harder for Fallada. Paper was rationed, which made it difficult for him to publish. In 1943, his publisher had to leave the country.
In 1944, Fallada was sent to a special hospital for mental health. While there, he used a trick to get paper and writing materials. He pretended he was working on a propaganda book for Goebbels. But instead, he secretly wrote The Drinker. This book was a critical look at life under the Nazis. He also wrote a short diary called A Stranger in My Own Country. This was a very brave act, as it could have led to severe punishment. He was released in December 1944 as the Nazi government was collapsing.
After the War
After the war, Fallada married Ursula Losch. He moved with her to Feldberg, Mecklenburg. When the Soviets arrived, Fallada, being a well-known person, was asked to become the interim mayor of Feldberg for 18 months.
His time in the special hospital had affected him. He also felt very sad about how deeply Nazism had changed society. He spent the rest of his short life in and out of hospitals.
Fallada wrote his last major novel, Every Man Dies Alone, between September and November 1946. He wrote it while in a mental health hospital. He told his family it was "a great novel."
Death and Legacy
Hans Fallada died in February 1947, at the age of 53. He had just finished Every Man Dies Alone. This anti-Nazi novel was based on the true story of a German couple, Otto and Elise Hampel. They were executed for distributing anti-Nazi materials in Berlin during the war. Fallada wrote the book very quickly, in just 24 days. He died only weeks before it was published.
Fallada was buried in Pankow, Berlin. Later, his grave was moved to Carwitz, where he had lived for many years. After his death, some of his writings were lost.
Fallada remained popular in Germany. However, outside Germany, his fame faded for decades. Every Man Dies Alone had a big impact in Germany. It was made into TV shows and a film. But it wasn't translated into English until 2009. When it was finally released in the US and UK, it became a "surprise bestseller."
Some German writers who left Germany when Hitler came to power criticized writers like Fallada. They felt that those who stayed and made compromises with the Nazi regime had damaged their work. Thomas Mann, another famous German writer, believed that books published in Germany during the Nazi era were "worse than worthless."
The Hans Fallada Prize, a literary award given by the city of Neumünster, is named after him.
Hans Fallada's Works
English Translations:
- Little Man, What Now? (1933)
- Who Once Eats Out of the Tin Bowl (UK) / The World Outside (US) (1934) / Once a Jailbird (UK) (2012)
- Once We Had a Child (1935)
- An Old Heart Goes A-Journeying (1936)
- Sparrow Farm (1937)
- Wolf Among Wolves (1938)
- Iron Gustav (1940)
- The Drinker (1952)
- That Rascal, Fridolin (children's book; 1959)
- Every Man Dies Alone (US) / Alone in Berlin (UK) (2009)
- A Small Circus (2012)
- A Stranger in My Own Country: The 1944 Prison Diary (2014)
- Tales From the Underworld: Selected Shorter Fiction (2014)
- Nightmare in Berlin (2016)
Note: Some early English translations were shortened or based on incomplete versions of his books.
German Works (Selected):
- Der junge Goedeschal, 1920
- Bauern, Bonzen und Bomben, 1931 (English: A Small Circus)
- Kleiner Mann, was nun?, 1932 (English: Little Man, What Now?)
- Wer einmal aus dem Blechnapf frißt, 1932 (English: Who Once Eats Out of the Tin Bowl)
- Wir hatten mal ein Kind, 1934 (English: Once We Had a Child)
- Märchen vom Stadtschreiber, der aufs Land flog, 1935 (English: Sparrow Farm)
- Altes Herz geht auf die Reise, 1936 (English: An Old Heart Goes A-Journeying)
- Wolf unter Wölfen, 1937 (English: Wolf Among Wolves)
- Der eiserne Gustav, 1938 (English: Iron Gustav)
- Fridolin der freche Dachs, 1944 (English: That Rascal, Fridolin)
- Jeder stirbt für sich allein, 1947 (English: Every Man Dies Alone / Alone in Berlin)
- Der Alpdruck, 1947 (English: Nightmare in Berlin)
- Der Trinker, 1950 (English: The Drinker)
- In meinem fremden Land: Gefängnistagebuch 1944 (2009) (English: A Stranger in My Own Country: The 1944 Prison Diary)
Films Based on Fallada's Books
Many of Hans Fallada's novels have been made into films and TV series. Here are some of them:
- Little Man, What Now? (Germany, 1933)
- Little Man, What Now? (USA, 1934)
- Altes Herz geht auf die Reise (Germany, 1938)
- Heaven, We Inherit a Castle (Germany, 1943)
- Wer einmal aus dem Blechnapf frisst (West Germany, TV miniseries, 1962)
- Jeder stirbt für sich allein (West Germany, TV film, 1962)
- Wolf Among Wolves (East Germany, TV miniseries, 1965)
- Der Trinker (West Germany, TV film, 1967)
- Kleiner Mann – was nun? (East Germany, TV miniseries, 1967)
- Jeder stirbt für sich allein (East Germany, TV miniseries, 1970)
- Bauern, Bonzen und Bomben (West Germany, TV miniseries, 1973)
- Everyone Dies Alone (West Germany, 1976)
- Ein Mann will nach oben (West Germany, TV miniseries, 1978)
- Der eiserne Gustav (West Germany, TV miniseries, 1979)
- Die Geschichte vom goldenen Taler (East Germany, TV film, 1985)
- Altes Herz geht auf die Reise (East Germany, TV film, 1987)
- The Drinker (Germany, TV film, 1995)
- Alone in Berlin (2016)
See also
