Peter-Ernst Eiffe (1941 - c. December 1982), also known as "Eiffe, der Bär" (German for 'Eiffe, the bear') was probably the first

Graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

artist in Germany. During the

German student movement The West German student movement or sometimes called the 1968 movement in West Germany was a social movement that consisted of mass student protests in West Germany in 1968; participants in the movement would later come to be known as 68ers. T ...

of May 1968, he distributed his messages all over

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and became also known for entering the

central station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

of Hamburg with a

Fiat 600 The Fiat 600 ( it, Seicento, ) is a rear-engine, water-cooled city car, manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles, Fiat from 1955 to 1969 — offered in two-door fastback sedan and four-door Multipla mini MPV body styles. Measuring only ...

. On this occasion he was arrested and after a depression in 1970 retained in a

psychiatric institution Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

. Trying to escape from there in December 1982, he froze to death. His life was documented in a 1995 film with the title ''Eiffe for President - Alle Ampeln auf Gelb'' (Eiffe for president, all traffic lights to yellow), named after one of his famous graffitis.

Early life

Eiffe grew up in Hamburg

Duvenstedt is a quarter of Hamburg, Germany, in the borough of Wandsbek. It is located on the northern boundaries of the borough and of the city. It is part of the area of Walddörfer (lit. ''forest villages''). Geography Duvenstedt borders the quarters ...

with adoptive parents. His adoptive father was

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for ''Berlinangelegenheiten'' (Berlin affairs) during the

Nazi 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 ...

period. His grand-grand father was senator for construction with an important street in Hamburg still being named after him. After his

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

, Eiffe became

Leutnant () is the lowest Junior officer rank in the armed forces the German (language), German-speaking of Germany (Bundeswehr), Austrian Armed Forces, and military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") fro ...

(reserve) of the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

. He then started to study

Business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

but broke off after a few semesters. For a certain period he worked at the statal statistical office in Hamburg. His superiors attested him above-average intelligence, but his career came to a halt for other motives. He decorated his work-place with a

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

of Bismarck and erotic photographs and insulted each morning the cleaning personnel in French. Eventually he was fired in April 1968. Additionally, his wife left him together with their 18-month-old daughter.

1968

In this time of personal crisis, he became famous In Hamburg for scrawling and scribbling all over the city, using mailboxes, billboards, traffic signs and subway stations and leaving whenever possible his business card: Peter-Ernst Eiffe, Wandsbeker Chaussee 305, 2000 Hamburg 22, including the phone number. When the

Hamburger Hochbahn Hamburger Hochbahn AG (HHA), founded in 1911, operates the underground system and large parts of the bus system in Hamburg, Germany. History The HHA was founded by Siemens & Halske and AEG as a consortium on 27 May 1911. The first chairman w ...

issued him a bill over 900

German mark The Deutsche Mark (; English: ''German mark''), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later the unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it was ...

s for damages to their property, he answered by issuing them a bill of 900 marks for his artwork Eiffe was also magically attracted by the

student movement Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. Although often focused on schools, curriculum, and educational funding, student groups have influenced greater political e ...

. He was seen ever more frequently at student assemblies, dressed in a suit with white shirt and tie, pushing for the microphone and explaining his theories about the subversive power of the joke. His friend

Fritz Teufel Fritz Teufel (17 June 1943 – 6 July 2010) was a prominent figure in the West German political left of the 1960s. One of the founders of Kommune 1, Teufel cultivated a theatrical, humorous public image—encapsulated in his idea of the "Spaßgue ...

nominated him as speaker for the

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. T ...

campaign of the APO in Berlin, where he announced under the cheers of thousands his desire to become the

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of students and demonstrators. The microphone, however, was turned off before he could elaborate his

political platform A political party platform (US English), party program, or party manifesto (preferential term in British & often Commonwealth English) is a formal set of principle goals which are supported by a political party or individual candidate, in order ...

. On May 30, 1968, he drove his

car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

with the slogan "Freie Eiffe-Republik" (Free Eiffe Republic) into the main hall of the

of Hamburg and started to decorate the tiles with triangles. He was quickly arrested, ushered away in handcuffs and taken under press coverage to the psychiatric hospital Hamburg- Ochsenzoll. Shortly afterwards, a booklet with photos of his surrealistic graffiti was published by Uwe Wandrey and Peter Schütt. 3000 copied were sold, resulting in an honorary of 500

s for Eiffe.

Later life and legacy

In November 1968 he was released from psychiatric care and found a job with a marketing agency in Düsseldorf. Nevertheless, in 1970 he had a case of

clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introdu ...

and was hospitalized in the psychiatric hospital Rickling in

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

. On December 24, 1982, he managed to escaped from there. Eventually, his dead body was found in March 1983 in a moorland close to Rickling. Nevertheless, the fame of Peter-Ernst Eiffe being the first German

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

artist lived on. Christian Bau recalled his life in one-hour documentary film with the title ''Eiffe for president, alle Ampeln auf gelb'', which was shown in 1996 in independent cinemas. The author

Uwe Timm Uwe Timm (; born 30 March 1940 in Hamburg) is a German writer. Life and work Uwe Timm was born in the year 1940 in Hamburg. Uwe Timm was the youngest son in his family. His brother, 16 years his senior, was a soldier in the Waffen SS and died i ...

included a number of Eiffe's sayings in the text of his novel "Heißer Sommer".

References

* * eter-ErnstEiffe: Eiffe for President, Frühling für Europa. Surrealismen zum Mai 68. Herausgabe und Information Uwe Wandrey. Politkritische Vorbemerkungen Peter Schütt. Hamburg: Quer-Verlag 1968 *Hamburger Abendblatt, 1. Februar 1995 "Faszination des Wahnsinns" von Katharina Gessler *

External links

''Eiffe for President - Alle Ampeln auf Gelb'': Official homepage of the documentary film
* ''Note: This article contains translated text from the article Peter-Ernst Eiffe in the German-language Wikipedia''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Eiffe, Peter-Ernst 1941 births 1982 deaths German graffiti artists Artists from Hamburg People from Wandsbek German adoptees People with mood disorders

Early life

1968

Later life and legacy

See also

References

External links