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German folklore is thefolk tradition which has developed inGermany over a number of centuries. Seeing as Germany wasdivided into numerous polities for most of its history, this term might both refer to the folklore of Germany proper and of allGerman-speaking countries, this wider definition including folklore ofAustria andLiechtenstein as well as the German-speaking parts ofSwitzerland,Luxembourg,Belgium, andItaly.
It shares many characteristics withNordic folklore andEnglish folklore due to their origins in a commonGermanic mythology. It reflects a similar mix of influences: a pre-Christianpantheon and other beings equivalent to those ofNorse mythology; magical characters (sometimes recognizably pre-Christian) associated withChristian festivals, and various regional 'character' stories.
As in Scandinavia, when belief in the old gods disappeared, remnants of themythos persisted: There are:
and many more generic entities such as theelf,dwarf,Kobold (with variants such asBieresel,Gütel,Heinzelmännchen,Jack o' the bowl, andNiß Puk),Klabautermann,Schrat,Wild man,Drak,Aufhocker,Ork,poltergeist,bogeyman,Will-o'-the-wisp, variousFeldgeister, andErlking. Famous individual Kobolds areKing Goldemar,Hinzelmann,Hödekin, andPetermännchen.
There further are mythical animals such asBahkauv,Beerwolf,Elwetritsch,Erdhenne,lindworm,Nachtkrapp,Rasselbock,Tatzelwurm, andWolpertinger, or mythical plants such asAlraune andIrrwurz.[citation needed]
Popular folklore includesKrampus,Belsnickel, andKnecht Ruprecht, a rough companion toSanta Claus; theLutzelfrau, aYule witch who must be appeased with small presents; theChristkind; the Osterhase (Easter Hare – the originalEaster Bunny); andWalpurgisnacht, a spring festival derived from pagan customs.
Character folklore includes the stories of thePied Piper of Hamelin, theGodfather Death, thetrickster heroTill Eulenspiegel, theTown Musicians of Bremen andFaust.
Documentation and preservation of folklore in the states that formally united asGermany in 1871 was initially fostered in the 18th and 19th centuries. As early as 1851, authorBernhard Baader published a collection of folklore research obtained by oral history, calledVolkssagen aus dem Lande Baden und den angrenzenden Gegenden. TheSaxon authorJohann Karl August Musäus (1735–1787) was another early collector.[citation needed]
Study was further promoted by thePrussian poet and philosopherJohann Gottfried von Herder. His belief in the role of folklore in ethnic nationalism – a folklore of Germany as a nation rather than of disunited German-speaking peoples – inspired theBrothers Grimm,Goethe and others. For instance, folklore elements, such as the Rhine Maidens and the Grimms'The Story of a Boy Who Went Forth to Learn Fear, formed part of the source material forRichard Wagner's opera cycleDer Ring des Nibelungen.
Some of the works ofWashington Irving – notably "Rip van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" – are based on German folktales.
Within Germany, the nationalistic aspect was further emphasized during theNational Socialist era. James R. Dow has written that under National Socialism, "folklore became a propaganda instrument of anti-democratic, anti-socialist, and extremely inhumane terrorist policies".[1] Folklore studies,Volkskunde, were co-opted as a political tool, to seek out traditional customs to support the idea of historical continuity with aGermanic culture.Anti-Semitic folklore such as theblood libel legend was also emphasized.
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