Simple German Short Stories
No time for Buddenbrooks? Not yet quite ready to handle Kant’s Kritik der reinen Vernunft? Well we’ve got some fantastic alternatives for you, in these literary gems of German short stories.
Reading simple German short stories is a great way to get your German to the next level. If you're looking for some German reading material to sink your teeth into, but are feeling overwhelmed and a little sweaty when Hegel’s Phänomenologie des Geistes comes to mind, you've come to the right place. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there.
It might not be time yet to tackle original texts on German philosophy or any other chunky book for that matter, so why not start off with a tasty little German short story?
Learning German With Short Stories
Short stories are meant to be challenging but manageable, and importantly - rewarding, as you can burn through them quite quickly! Perfect for language learners at any level, there are fantastic, world-famous fairy and folktales for the beginner readers out there, and short but sparkling, literary gems of stories by Germany’s most accomplished writers for you to get your hands on.
If you need a little inspiration, we have put together a short list of ideas for German short stories that might interest you. Take a look!
German Short Stories
1. Herr Gröttrup setzt sich hin
A gentle yet compelling and comedic critique of social and domestic hierarchies that are thoroughly exposed in the unfolding of an unassuming breakfast scene that takes place in the Gröttrup household.
Helmut Gröttrup, in German history, was known as an engineer, who worked on rocket technology in Nazi Germany.
In Sharon Dodua Otoo’s critically acclaimed short story, the fictional Gröttrup is a retired, old man - set in his ways - whose life is suddenly flipped upside down, when he discovers that his breakfast boiled egg is too soft - what madness! Who is to blame?
Is it his wife, of whom we know so little about (don’t worry, Herr Gröttrup doesn’t seem to either), who made this so important and unforgivable mistake? What does the egg have to say about all this?
Yes, the story is also written from the perspective of the egg!
By utilising this creative and curious point of view, Otoo explores and exposes Herr Gröttrups entitlement and narrow-mindedness.
A fascinating story about social and domestic hierarchies, that strikes a hot and pulsing cultural nerve, “Herr Gröttrup setzt sich hin” is another highly recommended short story on our list.
2. Der kleine Herr Friedemann
When young Herr Friedemann spies the girl he has fallen in love kissing another boy, he promises himself never to fall in love with anybody. That is, until he meets Frau Gerda von Rinnlingen, whose friendship turns his life upside down.
The late 19th Century brought about the literary movement “Naturalism”, which stiffly rejected Romanticism (which was emotional, idealised nature and was suspicious of science), and instead embraced a pessimistic view of nature as hostile and indifferent, often describing miserable circumstances with a certain detachment.
In the same vein, Thomas Mann’s short story “Der kleine Herr Friedemann”, is about a man committed to devoting his life to his interests in art and nature, as replacements for romantic love, when a sudden and surprising attachment to a woman sends him spiralling into anxiety and madness.
A thought provoking, exciting and often quite funny story, reading “Der kleine Herr Friedemann” is a fantastic way to take your first step into the literary world of German literary giant, Thomas Mann.
3. Saisonbeginn
A piece belonging to the post-war literary movement “Trümmerliteratur”, about the antisemitism of the people living in a small town in Germany, shown through the simple action of hanging a sign in preparation for the tourist season.
This short story is a notable work of German literature, in that it belonged to German literary movement: Trümmerliteratur.
A literary movement which started soon after the end of World War Two, that focused on depicting the experiences of war and post-war life, from the perspectives of average people; depicting the hardships average people faced returning from war to rubbled cities, and taking responsibility for the part they played in it.
"Saisonbeginn" was written about the anti-semitism of a small town in Germany, shown through the action of hanging a sign forbidding Jews at the town entrance, in preparation for the tourist season, and observes the revealing ways the townspeople react to it.
4. Hänsel und Gretel
Explore the dark yet charming nature of Germany’s famous world of folklore, with a tale picked from Grimm’s Märchen- the age old fairy tale of two abandoned children, lost in the enchanted, German woods, who come across a deliciously decorated witches cottage, and are almost turned into dinner.
One of the Grimm Brothers’ most famous children's fairy tales, “Hänsel und Gretel”, takes place - of course - in a dark and foreboding forest.
When two young siblings are cruelly abandoned in the woods, they try in vain to find a way back home, until they stumble across that infamous house so many of us have heard being described as a child; a mouth-watering house made of gingerbread, sugar panes and cake, and owned by a waiting, watching, blood-thirsty witch.
Do you remember what happens next? …What the witch looks like? … that there’s a duck involved in all this?!
We didn’t either, until we read the story again, but this time in the original German version.
A well-loved classic fairy tale, filled to the brim with helpful, everyday terms and expressions, we’d recommend this short story to German learners at any level, but in particular any first time readers of adult German literature (when you’re passed the Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt phase).
5. Nachts schlafen die Ratten doch
A heart-aching story about the loss of childhood during wartime, and the hope that adult protection and guidance can bring.
A particularly well-known and well-regarded example of Trümmerliteratur (see Saisonbeginn - Elisabeth Langgässer for more about this literary movement), Wolfgang Borchert’s story about the tragic loss of childhood during wartime takes place amongst the ruins of a German city that was destroyed due to the events of the war.
There, a young boy has given himself the responsibility of keeping guard of the body of his even younger brother, which has been buried in the rubble, for fear of the rats getting to it, until an older man approaches him to offer his help and protection.
The story is written in a simple, clear-cut and direct fashion, characteristic of the writing of the literary movement, and makes for less challenging, straight forward reading for advanced-beginner to intermediate German learners. In fact, Borchert’s simple yet significant and intelligent writing has led to his works being popularly read amongst young students in German schools, across the country.
