''Die schwarzen Brüder'' ( en, The Black Brothers) is the best-known story of German-Swyss writers
Lisa Tetzner
Lisa Tetzner (10 November 1894 in Zittau, Saxony – 2 July 1963 in Carona, Switzerland) was a German-born Swiss children's book writer known for her work with fairy-tales. In 1924 she married Kurt Held, a Jewish Communist.
They fled to Switzerlan ...
and
Kurt Held
Kurt Kläber (1897–1959), who published under the pseudonym Kurt Held, was a writer and Communist displaced from Germany during the Second World War.
Early life
Kläber left school at the age of 14 and began training as a locksmith and later t ...
.
Plot introduction
The book was published in two volumes between 1940 and 1941, and tells the fact-based story of ''Giorgio'', a boy from Sonogno in the
Verzasca Valley in the canton of
Ticino
Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. In historical chronicles, the author had read of a ferry disaster drowning some 30
chimney sweep
A chimney sweep is a person who clears soot and creosote from chimneys. The chimney uses the pressure difference caused by a hot column of gas to create a draught and draw air over the hot coals or wood enabling continued combustion. Chimneys ...
s boys (Italian ''
Spazzacamini''). The boys were sold to the
City of Milan for poverty in the middle of the 19th century.
The novel was started by Lisa Tetzner, and finished by her husband Kurt Held (actually Kurt Kläber), though the latter remained uncredited being a political refugee in Swirzerland to escape from
Nazism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
. Kläber later published the novel ''
Die Rote Zora und ihre Bande.''
Plot
Giorgio grew up in the small Ticino mountain village
Sonogno
Sonogno is a former municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It is located in Valle Verzasca. On 17 October 2020 the former municipalities of Vogorno, Sonogno, Corippo, Brione (Verzasca) and Frasco merged to ...
. His parents were poor mountain farmers. One day his mother broke her leg, Giorgio was sold as a boy chimney sweep to Milan, as the family had no money to pay for the medical treatment of his mother. A scar-faced man (referred to only as ''Der Mann mit der Narbe'' (The man with the Scar)), Antonio Luini, bought him for the sum of twenty Swiss Franks and gathered him and others to bring to Milan.
[Die Schwarzen Brüder by Lisa Tetzner. Carlsen, German Edition, p. 471] During his journey to Milan, Giorgio met Alfredo, who came from a village in the
Misox
The ''Valle Mesolcina'', also known as the ''Val Mesolcina'' or ''Misox'' (German), is an alpine valley of the Grisons, Switzerland, stretching from the San Bernardino Pass to Grono where it joins the Calanca Valley. It is the valley formed by ...
. The boat capsized, drowning many of the boys; only a few made their way to the lakeshore, where they were picked up by Luini and brought to Milan.
Giorgio was sold to Mr. Rossi, a chimney sweep in Milan, who was under the influence of his hard-hearted wife. Giorgio was humiliated by her son Anselmo and barely received enough to eat. Nicoletta, Rossi's deathly-sick daughter, helped Giorgio greatly, sharing her food and calming her mother.
Giorgio soon met with other chimney sweep boys, and was received in the community of "The Black Brothers". Together, they withstood the attacks from the local boys called Die Wölfe (The Wolves).
Malnutrition and hard work weakened Giorgio. While working in a clogged chimney, and breaking loose blocks of soot in the smoke of a fire still burning, he almost died. After falling and becoming unconscious, he was taken care of by a Ticino physician, Dr. Casella, who was attending a festivity at Mr. Rossi's house. Dr. Casella later encouraged Giorgio and his friends to flee Milan and seek help at his estate in
Lugano
Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...
.
A few weeks later, Giorgio's friend Alfredo died of
Pulmonary Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in w ...
. After his funeral, the two hostile groups of boys agreed to tolerate and to assist each other. When Anselmo accused Giorgio of stealing, the "Wolves" took Giorgio and his friends to the road that led to Switzerland. Giorgio was hunted by the Milan police, But the boys made their way to the neighboring Swiss border town of
Lake Lugano
__NOTOC__
Lake Lugano ( it, Lago di Lugano or , from la, Ceresius lacus; lmo, Lagh de Lugan) is a glacial lake which is situated on the border between southern Switzerland and northern Italy. The lake, named after the city of Lugano, is situated ...
. In Lugano, they met with Dr. Casella, who offered them accommodations in his house. Dr. Casella's influence also led to the arrest of Antonio Luini, after he had been identified by Giorgio. Luini was later sentenced to a long prison term.
Nine years later, having become a teacher. Giorgio returned home to
Sonogno
Sonogno is a former municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It is located in Valle Verzasca. On 17 October 2020 the former municipalities of Vogorno, Sonogno, Corippo, Brione (Verzasca) and Frasco merged to ...
together with his wife, Alfredo's sister Bianca. There, he reunited with Anita (who herself had married) and his entire family, including his father, mother and Nonna, who were all still alive and doing well.
Adaptations
Film
* 2013 : ', a Swiss-German movie directed by
Xavier Koller
Xavier Koller (born 1944, Schwyz, Switzerland) is a Swiss film director and screenwriter. He is most known for his work on the Disney live action film '' Squanto: A Warrior's Tale'', an adventure historical fiction film based on the life of Squa ...
.
Television
* 1984 : ''Die schwarzen Brüder'', a Swiss mini-series filmed by director .
Animated series
* In Japan in 1995, a 33-part animated series under the
World Masterpiece Theater
was a Japanese TV anime staple that showcased an animated version of a different classical book or story each year from 19:30 to 20:00 on Sunday on Fuji TV. It originally aired from 1969 to 1997 and from 2007 to 2009. Commonly abbreviated to ...
under the title ''Romeo no aoi sora'' was (Japanese ロミオ の 青い 空, Romio no aoi sora, literally: "
Romeo's Blue Sky") directed by Kōzō Kusuba. Under the title ''Die schwarzen Brüder'' this was also broadcast in Germany. For this telling of the story, Giorgio's name was changed to Romeo, it is his father who falls ill rather than his mother, and Romeo enters servitude voluntarily. Alfredo has an expanded role in the tale as a lost heir to nobility; and this (rather than the resolution of Luini) drives the plot in the last half of the series.
Radio play
Heidi and Stefan Knetsch Richwien adapted the material for the radio version. Christiane Ohaus directed. Produced by Radio Bremen, North German Radio and Bavarian Radio 2002nd The performers are: Raiko Kuester, Hildegard Krekel, Mendroch Horst, Ulrich and Andreas Pietschmann Pleitgen. In 2004, the radio play won the Quarterly Prize of the German Record Critics.
*Lisa Tetzner: Die Schwarzen Brüder, Düsseldorf: Patmos 2003, 2 CDs, 104 min,
See also
*
Kaminfegerkinder
*
List of German television series
The following is a list of television series produced in Germany:
Current
Drama
* ''4 Blocks'' (TNT Serie, 2017–2019)
* ''Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei'' ( RTL, 1996–present)
* ''Babylon Berlin'' (Sky 1 & ARD, 2017–presen ...
*''
Romeo's Blue Skies
is a Japanese anime series by Nippon Animation. Although "Romeo's Blue Skies" is the literal translation of the Japanese title, the official English name given by Nippon Animation is "Romeo and the Black Brothers". It is known in Arabic as "ع ...
''
Publications in English
* ''The Black Brothers'' by Lisa Tetzner, Publisher: Highlights Press, 04/09/2004, Pages: 160., Ages young adult,
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarzen Bruder, die
1941 German-language novels
German children's literature
Child characters in literature
Fictional chimney sweepers
1984 German television series debuts
1941 children's books