Max and Moritz were two little boys, created by German humorist, poet, illustrator and painter, Wilhelm Busch. In 1865, Busch published an illustrated work entitled, Max und Moritz – eine Bubengeschichte in Sieben Streichen (Max and Moritz – A Story of Seven Boyish Pranks). The tale is told entirely in rhymed couplets. This satire, the first of its time that did not portray children as universally good and well-behaved, poked fun at the victims, rather than the culprits.

Max (left) and Moritz
two mischievous boys created by Wilhelm Busch (1832- 1908)

When I was a little girl, almost every parent read these tales to their young children. In 1866, only a year after first publication, Max and Moritz appeared in Danish. Today, it can be read in many languages. The terrible duo inspired Katzenjammer Kids, a cartoon strip that appeared in 1897 in the American Humorist, the Sunday supplement of William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal. The Katzenjammer Kids were called Hans and Fritz.

Max and Moritz’ Pranks

Prank #1

The Widow – Max and Moritz tie several crusts of bread together in Widow Bolte’s chicken yard, causing the chickens to become fatally tangled.

Prank # 2

The Widow II – As the widow tries to cook her chickens, the mischievous boys steal them by pulling them up the chimney with a fishing rod. The poor widow suspects her dog.

Prank #3

The Taylor – The boys saw through the planks of Tailor Boeck’s wooden bridge in front of his house and cause the poor tailor to be swept away by the current.

Prank #4

The Teacher – While Teacher Laempel, is busy at church, Max and Moritz fill his pipe with gunpowder. When the teacher lights it, the blast knocks him unconscious.

Prank #5

The Uncle – The terrible duo collects bags of bugs and deposits them in their uncle’s bed. When their uncle feels the bugs walking on his nose, the poor man has a fit.

Prank #6

The Baker – When the boys want to steal pretzels from a bakery, they fall into a barrel of dough. The baker bakes them in his oven, but the breaded duo escapes by gnawing through the crusts.

Prank #7

The Farmer – Finally their pranks catch up with them when Farmer Mecke puts Max & Moritz into grain sacks, grinds them up and feeds them to his ducks.

The mill, by the way, really exists and can be visited in Ebergoetzen.

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.