''Der Wehrwolf'' A

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

combining the German words for "defence" and "wolf"; usually translated into English as ''Warwolf'' is a novel by German journalist and writer Hermann Löns, first published in 1910.

Plot summary

The

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

is at its height while the

peasantry A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

suffers under countless marauders. The protagonist Harm Wulf, a

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

, lost his family in the first years of war; he becomes the ''defending Wulf'' (''wehrender Wulf'') by defending a

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

and its surrounding carr with peasants hiding from the pillaging hordes. Harm Wulf gathers allies until 121 men are in the ''Alliance of the Wehrwolf''. After peace is restored, Harm Wulf is a grim old man.

Reception

Published in 1910, ''Der Wehrwolf'' became a bestseller in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

with its nationalist content. Near the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, young Luftwaffenhelfers and children were encouraged to read the novel to promote

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...

against the Allies (to act like a We(h)rwolf).

Notes

References

1910 German novels 1910 German-language novels Novels set during the Thirty Years' War {{1910s-hist-novel-stub

Plot summary

Reception

See also

Notes

References