portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words is a novel by German journalist and writer Hermann Löns, first published in 1910.
Plot summary
The
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...
is at its height while the peasantry 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 earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post- ...
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 (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
with its nationalist content. Near the end of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, young Luftwaffenhelfers and children were encouraged to read the novel to promote
guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run ...
against the Allies (to act like a We(h)rwolf). The novel was indexed after the Allies took power .
See also
* Wolfsangel, an emblem used by the protagonist of the book