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Der Wehrwolf (a portmanteau and word play, combining the words for "defence" and "wolf" to Wehrwolf - c.f. Werwolf, "werewolf") is a novel by Hermann Löns, first published in 1910.

Plot summary

The Thirty Years' War is at its height and the peasantry suffers under countless marauders, which roam the lands. The main protagonist Harm Wulf, a peasant, already lost his family in the first years of war and becomes the defending Wulf (wehrender Wulf) by defending a hill fort and its surrounding carr, where some local peasants hide from the pillaging hordes. Harm Wulf gathers more and more allies until 121 men are in the Alliance of the Wehrwolf. When peace is finally restored Harm Wulf is an old and grim man.

Aftermath

Der Wehrwolf became a bestseller in Nazi Germany and was used for purposes of propaganda, because its content could be interpreted as nationalistic. Near the end of World War II Luftwaffenhelfer and children in the Hitler Youth were constrained to read the novel to promote guerrilla warfare against the allies (to act like a We(h)rwolf). Because of that, the book was indexed for a short time after the war.

References

Notes

1. Beevor, Antony (2002). The Fall of Berlin 1945. Penguin. p. 173. ISBN 0-14-200280-1.

• 1910 novels