Comparing Ede And Unku By Grete Weiskopf

The story “Ede and Unku” by Grete Weiskopf describes a boy whose father’s values are tied to that of the NSDAP party, and exposes how discriminatory this party is through the eyes of a gypsy girl, Unku. Moreover, the story justifies communist values when Unku takes from the wealthy to support her poor family who cannot afford other food. This ideal is exemplified when Unku states: “Yes, that’s so-the fish- they’re swimming in the water and should belong to everyone… These things should belong to everyone, and everyone who works should get enough to eat. That’s true enough” (“Weimar Germany and the Rise of Hitler” 25). By providing examples of why the market and land should be shared and unmasking the

NSDAP for its bigotry, “Ede and Unku”

While Unku provides compelling evidence for the story’s overarching message, Ede is ultimately the receiver of this, and is the one who transitions and follows the archetype of Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey. He additionally changes his father’s viewpoint and is the prime example of the target audience for this story- a young Aryan boy. His protagonistic nature is thus displayed throughout the text, but the statement, “Enlightened by his son, Ede’s father orders Mr. Abendstund to leave. He then welcomes Maxe’s father into his home and hides him from the police” (“Weimar Germany and the Rise of Hitler” 25), demonstrates Ede’s influence perfectly. Ede listens and changes into the hero of Weiskopf’s story by saving a communist man and finding friendship with a minority, both exemplifying his impact in the

Ede’s father, for example, started in the story as a strong supporter of the NSDAP party and disliked gypsies, yet once Ede talked to him, he was quickly persuaded to become a supporter of communism. The reasoning behind this is stated in “Weimar Germany and the Rise of Hitler's” introductory paragraph, “...Children’s literature has traditionally been a means of instilling values in young people… When a society is split over fundamental values, children's literature often reflects the divisions” (22). Thus, the adults played the role of teaching values, yet following the leadership of the youth to provide the young readers with a belief in their influence in society. “Ede and Unku” embodies the common propaganda technique in Germany at the time of youth leadership with adults as secondary supporters or adversaries to provide children with a sense of power and control gained by a particular