Friedrich Karl Waechter (3 November 1937 in Danzig – 16 September 2005 in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

) was a renowned

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

cartoonist, author, and playwright.

Life

Waechter was born in Danzig as a son of a teacher. His family fled over the Baltic Sea after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and settled in Sahms (Schleswig-Holstein). Waechter attended the Lauenburg Scholar School in Ratzeburg, where his graphic talents became apparent. He then studied graphic art in Hamburg. In 1962, he moved to

and took a job drawing cartoons in an advertisement magazine ''Die Zeit''. His work attracted the attention of the editors of the soon-to-be satire magazine, ''

Pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...

''. They gave Waechter a preliminary copy and asked for his suggestions. Waechter's constructive criticism earned him a job with the fledgling magazine. While at ''Pardon'', he co-founded the

Neue Frankfurter Schule Neue Frankfurter Schule (NFS, New Frankfurt School) is a group of writers and artists which was founded by former members of the editorial staff of the satirical magazine ''pardon''. They have published the magazine ''Titanic'' from 1979. History ...

(New Frankfurt School), a group of eminent comic writers and cartoonists. The name was a play on the

Frankfurter Schule The Frankfurt School (german: Frankfurter Schule) is a school of social theory and critical philosophy associated with the Institute for Social Research, at Goethe University Frankfurt in 1929. Founded in the Weimar Republic (1918–1933), duri ...

Theodor Adorno Theodor is a masculine given name. It is a German form of Theodore. It is also a variant of Teodor. List of people with the given name Theodor * Theodor Adorno, (1903–1969), German philosopher * Theodor Aman, Romanian painter * Theodor Blueger, ...

and

Max Horkheimer Max Horkheimer (; ; 14 February 1895 – 7 July 1973) was a German philosopher and sociologist who was famous for his work in critical theory as a member of the Frankfurt School of social research. Horkheimer addressed authoritarianism, militari ...

. The group included

Robert Gernhardt Robert Gernhardt (13 December 1937 – 30 June 2006) was a German writer, painter, graphic artist and poet. Life Robert Gernhardt was born the son of a judge and a chemist in Tallinn, where his family was part of the Baltic German minority. In ...

, F. W. Bernstein,

Bernd Eilert Bernd is a Low German short form of the given name Bernhard (English Bernard). List of persons with given name Bernd The following people share the name Bernd. *Bernd Brückler (born 1981), Austrian hockey player *Bernd Eichinger (1949–2011), G ...

Eckhard Henscheid Ekkehard (and Eckardt, Eckard, Eckart, Eckhardt, Ekkehart) is a German given name. It is composed of the elements ''ekke'' "edge, blade; sword" and ''hart'' "brave; hardy". Variant forms include Eckard, Eckhard, Eckhart (disambiguation), Eckhart, Ec ...

, Peter Knorr,

Hans Traxler Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi a ...

, and

Chlodwig Poth Louis is the French language, French form of the Old Frankish language, Old Frankish given name Clovis (given name), Chlodowig and one of two English language, English forms, the other being Lewis (given name), Lewis (). Etymology The name Louis ...

. Their work celebrated subversive nonsense, typified by ''Pardon's'' regular "Welt in Spiegel" ("In the Mirror") feature. Waechter became a father and, by 1970, began writing children's books. Many of these encouraged the reader to complete puzzles and drawings, write in the book, cut it up, or otherwise participate in the story. The books appealed to both children and adults and showcased his artistic talents: simple yet expressive cartoons, carefully cross-hatched pen and ink, collage, and realistic paintings. He would write some forty books throughout his life. They are typified by ''Anti-Struwwwelpeter'' ("Anti-Strawpeter," a parody of

Heinrich Hoffman Heinrich Hoffman was born on December 23, 1836. He served in the American Civil War, and was a Medal of Honor Recipient. He served as a Corporal in the Union Army in Company M, 2nd Ohio Cavalry. He received the Medal of Honor for action on April ...

's popular German children's book, ''

Struwwelpeter ''Der Struwwelpeter'' ("shock-headed Peter" or "Shaggy Peter") is an 1845 German children's book by Heinrich Hoffmann. It comprises ten illustrated and rhymed stories, mostly about children. Each has a clear moral that demonstrates the disastr ...

''), ''Die Schoepfung'' (Waechter's re-telling of Biblical creation), and ''Der Kronenklauer'' ("

The Crown Snatchers ''The Crown Snatchers'' is a self-described "superstorybook" written by German authors F. K. Waechter and Bernd Eilert. It is the English translation of ''Die Kronenklauer'', which was first published in 1972, by Rowohlt Verlag in Germany. Two ...

," an anti-authoritarian fable). In 1979 he co-founded ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

'', another satirical magazine. His cartoons featured regularly until 1992, when he began focusing on teaching, writing books, and writing and directing plays. Waechter's final work was ''Vollmond'' ("Full Moon"), a fantastic tale of a space journey. He completed it while undergoing treatment for

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

. He died on September 16, 2005, at the age of 67, leaving behind a wife and three sons.

Honors

* 1975:

Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis The (German Youth Literature Award) is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's and young adult literature. It is Germany's only ...

for ''Wir können noch viel zusammen machen'' * 1983: Brüder-Grimm-Preis des Landes Berlin * 1993: Hessischer Kulturpreis * 1999:

for ''Der rote Wolf'' * 2003:

Alex-Wedding-Preis The Alex Wedding Prize is a German literature, German literary prize awarded to authors of Children's literature, works for children and young adult fiction, young people. It is named after children's author Grete Weiskopf-Bernheim (1905–1966), wh ...

* 2003: Preis der Binding-Kulturstiftung

Books

* ''Ich bin der Größte'', 1966 (Frankfurt am Main: Bärmeier & Nikel) * ''Die Wahrheit über Arnold Hau'', 1966 (with F. W. Bernstein and

). * ''Der kleine Zweckermann'', 1969 (Frankfurt am Main: Bärmeier & Nikel) * ''Der Anti-Struwwelpeter'', 1970 * '' Die Kronenklauer'', 1972 (with

) * ''Tischlein deck dich und Knüppel aus dem Sack'', 1972 (Subtitle: ''Ein neues Märchen'') * ''Brülle ich zum Fenster raus'', 1973 * ''Wir können noch viel zusammen machen'', 1973 (picture book) * ''So dumm waren die Hebräer'', 1973 * ''Das Ungeheuer-Spiel'', 1975 * ''Opa Huckes Mitmach-Kabinett'', 1976 * ''Schule mit Clowns'', ''Der Teufel mit den drei goldenen Haaren'', ''Pustekuchen'' (1975/76 Ellermann Verlag, Verlag der Autoren) * ''Die Bauern im Brunnen'', 1978 * ''Wahrscheinlich guckt wieder kein Schwein'', 1978 * ''Kiebich und Dutz'', 1979 * ''Die Reise'', 1980 (Subtitle: ''Eine schrecklich schöne Bildergeschichte'', "A Terribly Beautiful Picture History") * ''Es lebe die Freihei...'', 1981 * ''Fühlmäuse'', 1981 * ''Wer kommt mit auf die Lofoten?'', 1982 * ''Das Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland'', 1982 * ''Männer auf verlorenem Posten'', 1983 * ''Nur den Kopf nicht hängen lassen'', 1983 * ''Glückliche Stunde'', 1986 * ''Die Mondtücher'', 1988 * ''Mich wundert, daß ich fröhlich bin'', 1991 * ''Die letzten Dinge'', 1992 * ''Da bin ich'', 1997 * ''F. K. Waechters Erzähltheater'', 1997 * ''Der rote Wolf'', 1998 * ''Mein 1. Glas Bier'', 1998 * ''Der Kleine im Glaspott'', 1999 * ''Die Geschichte vom albernen Hans'', 2000 * ''Der Frosch und das Mädchen'', 2000 * ''Steinhauers Fuß'', 2001 * ''Die Schöpfung'', 2002 * ''Waechter'', 2002 * ''Prinz Hamlet'', 2005 * ''Vollmond'', 2005

Plays (selection)

* Die Beinemacher (1974) * Der Teufel mit den drei goldenen Haaren (1975) * Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten (1977) * Die Reise nach Aschenfeld (1984) * Ausflug mit Clowns (1985) * F. K. Waechters Ixypsilonzett (1990) * Die letzten Dinge (1992) * Die Eisprinzessin (1993, in two versions) * Prinz Hamlet (1995) * Lysistrata (after

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...

, 1997) * Die Aschenputtler ( 1998) * Tristan und Isolde (2002) * Karneval der Tiere (2002) * Der Narr des Königs (Kwast) (2003)

Criticism

* ''Die schärfsten Kritiker der Elche. Die Neue Frankfurter Schule in Wort und Strich und Bild,'' Oliver Maria Schmitt, Berlin: Alexander Fest Verlag 2001.

External links

A short bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waechter, F.K. 1937 births 2005 deaths Writers from Gdańsk Naturalized citizens of Germany People from the Free City of Danzig Burials at Frankfurt Main Cemetery German male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century German dramatists and playwrights 21st-century German dramatists and playwrights German draughtsmen German cartoonists German children's book illustrators