Jean-Jacques Waltz (23 February 1873,
Colmar
Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it i ...
– 10 June 1951), also known as "''Oncle Hansi''", or simply "Hansi" ("little John") was a French artist of
Alsatian origin. He was a staunch pro-French activist, and is famous for his quaint drawings, some of which contain harsh critiques of the Germans of the time. He was also a French hero of both the
First and the
Second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ea ...
World Wars.
Biography
Early life
Jean-Jacques Waltz was born in
Colmar
Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it i ...
the 23 February 1873, two years after the annexation of
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
by the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
following the
Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1.
He worked as an artist for the textile industry, and drew postcards and programmes for local events. He started publishing satirical works in 1908 under the pseudonym "Hansi", making particular fun of German tourists.
First satirical works and First World War
Hansi became famous with his polemical satiric work ''Professor Knatschke'' (1912), which became a best-seller in France, as well as several other militant works. He came to incarnate the symbol of pro-French Alsatians, especially among "revanchist" French intellectuals such as
Maurice Barrès
Auguste-Maurice Barrès (; 19 August 1862 – 4 December 1923) was a French novelist, journalist and politician. Spending some time in Italy, he became a figure in French literature with the release of his work '' The Cult of the Self'' in 188 ...
.
Hansi was imprisoned several times by the German authorities for making fun of the German military and professors, culminating in a one-year sentence given by the tribunal of
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
in July 1914. This caused a national outrage in France, making headlines in newspapers and inspiring two editorials by
Clemenceau.
Hansi eventually escaped to France, having crossed the frontier at the Schlucht on 14 July and arriving in Belfort, where he joined the military as a translator-officer when the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
broke out.
Late life
In 1940, Hansi, still wanted by the
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...
for his militant works and his treason of 1914, had to flee into
Vichy, France
Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais.
It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of Vich ...
. He was attacked by the Nazis in
Agen
The commune of Agen (, ; ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux.
Geography
The city of Agen lies in the southwestern departme ...
, and fled to
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 ...
.
Badly wounded because of this attack, he remained weak until he died in 1951.
Legacy
Hansi is now archetypal of Alsace folklore. His original books, published in a few thousand copies, are valued among collectors. It is very common to find plates and every-day items decorated with his drawings. His books have been republished several times.
Works
* ''Professor Knatschke''
* ''Le voyage d'Erika en Alsace Française''
* ''L'Histoire d'Alsace Racontée aux Petits Enfants d'Alsace et de France par l'Oncle Hansi''
* ''Mon Village, ceux qui n'oublient pas''
* ''L' Alsace Heureuse''
* ''Le Paradis Tricolore''
* ''A travers les lignes ennemies''
* ''L'Alsace''
* ''Colmar en France''
* ''Colmar, guide illustré des champs de bataille''
* ''Les clochers dans les Vignes''
* ''Au pied de la Montagne Ste Odile''
* ''La fresque de Geispolsheim et autres balivernes''
* ''La merveilleuse Histoire du bon Saint Florentin''
* ''Les armes des villes et des communes 80 documents héraldiques dessinés et commentés par JJ Waltz''
* ''Les armes des tribus et des corporations et emblèmes des artisans''
* ''Les armes des nobles et des bourgeois''
* ''Souvenir d'un annexé récalcitrant''
Honours
* Commandor of the ''
Légion d'Honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
''
*
Croix de Guerre
The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...
1914-1918 with palms
*
Croix de Guerre 1939-1945
Croix (French for "cross") may refer to:
Belgium
* Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut
France
* Croix, Nord, in the Nord department
* Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort depa ...
with palms
External links
Professor Knatschke*
Vie et oeuvre de Hansi(life and works of Hansi)
*
L'histoire d'Alsace recontée aux petits enfants par l'Oncle Hansi(''History of Alsace told to children by Uncle Hansi''), one of Hansi's major works available online.
*
The House of Uncle Hansi https://www.visit.alsace/en/269000084-the-house-of-uncle-hansi/amp/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waltz, Jean-Jacques
1873 births
1951 deaths
People from Colmar
People from Alsace-Lorraine
French cartoonists
French male writers
Writers from Grand Est
French military personnel of World War I