The directory «Plots»

Kästner Erich
(1899—1974)
«Emil and the Detectives»
«Emil und die Detective»

Erich Kästner was born in Dresden in 1899. He is the author of many novelsn children's books, poems and essays. Together with other German writers, he tried to attack Hitler's totalitarism and lack of freedom with humor and pacifist ideals.

Kästner's children's books reflected his social optimism based on his belief in the renewing power of the each new generation of youth. He was awarded with the Hans Christian Andersen in 1960. Though he became popular through his children's books, he was also very successful among adults as a novelist and poet.

Many of his books have been translated into English, such as Emil and the Detectives (1929), Fabian, the story of a moralist (1931), The 35th of May, or Conrad's Ride to the South Seas (1931), Anna Luise and Anton (1932), The Flying Classroom (1933), and Three Men in the Snow (1934), among many others.

German Federal Republic, 1999, Illustration of «Emil and the Detectives»

German Federal Republic, 1999.02.18, Bonn. Erich Kastner