Literature / Die Kinder aus Nr. 67

Die Kinder aus Nr. 67 is a German children's book series by Lisa Tetzner, written during The '30s and The '40s.

1. Erwin und Paul: The boys Erwin and Paul are good friends living in the eponymous house no. 67 in a poorer part of Berlin. Then, Paul's father loses his job during The Great Depression, making their life harder. Paul even resorts to stealing bread; Erwin who doesn't know is asked by the baker to catch the thief; when he finds out it's Paul, he decides to help him by getting him a job at the baker's. Later, the boys want to make their dream of their own football real.
2. Das Mädchen aus dem Vorderhaus: The Jewish girl Miriam moves in with her aunt, owner of a masquerade store, and tries to fit in with the other kids. She doesn't have it easy, especially since some kids start to believe in the Nazi propaganda. But things end well, Erwin becomes new leader of the gang, and later they organize a big block party (so to speak, for lack of a better term) to enable Paul's family to return to the house. ^note The owner of the house is so impressed by their efforts, he donates Paul's family's old apartment as a first prize for their lottery - for one year, rent is free!
3. Erwin kommt nach Schweden: Those Wacky Nazis have taken over. Erwin and his father (who, being a leftist, was imprisoned for some time) flee from Germany via France (where they meet Miriam and her aunt again) to Sweden. In Kiruna, Erwin and his new friend Mikolai have an adventure among the Sami, but then Erwin gets lost in the snow and barely survives. Fortunately, the co-workers of his father show some real solidarity and collect money, so Erwin's mother and two younger siblings can join them.
4. Das Schiff ohne Hafen: Miriam and her aunt leave Europe, hoping to immigrate to Argentina. They're on a ship to South America, together with many other refugees from Central Europe, many of them stateless. But their hopes - like those of many other emigrants - are crushed since the Latin American states don't want too many immigrants, and some people find that their papers are invalid. Fortunately, the helpful Swiss boy Hans Suter who's a grandson of the captain, finds a country willing to take them in: Bolivia. Then, the ship sinks, and many people drown.
5. Die Kinder auf der Insel: A handful of kids incl. Hans and Miriam from the former story try to survive on a tropical island in the Pacific.
6. Mirjam in Amerika: After being saved from the island, Miriam and the other kids are brought to New York. The orphaned toddler Ruth gets adopted by a rich couple, but Miriam learns that they soon lose the interest in Ruth, so she, the older boy Macky "Mackenzie King" and the black boy Cimbalo try to get Ruth reunited with her father in Canada, a famous ophtalmologist. In an not entirely legal way.
7. War Paul schuldig?: Paul has stayed in Berlin and became a member of the Hitler Youth. When he becomes eligible for a prestigious career, and the other nazis suspect he's not that loyal, he tells them about a teacher of his, who listened to foreign radio stations. The teacher loses his job and has to work in a factory. Soon after, Paul's family dies in a bomb raid that also destroys house no. 67. Paul loses the will to fight for Nazi Germany. Then, he meets the young Russian Sergey who could flee from a POW camp. They decide to go to Switzerland together, where they happen to run in Hans, Pascal and Lukas, who spent a part of the book fleeing from occupied France to Switzerland.
8. Als ich wiederkam: Erwin and his friend Mikolai return to Germany, fighting for the British army. On the way home, he meets one childhood buddy who barely survived a concentration camp, and later in Berlin other members of his old gang.
9. Der neue Bund: After the war, the various friends are coming together

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Tropes:

• Artifact Title: In the later books the kids aren't kids anymore, and house #67 was destroyed in the war.
• The Big Rotten Apple: Miriam is impressed by Manhattan, but one sailor warns her that it's a coldhearted, sinful city.
• Canine Companion: Erwin takes Miriam's dog Piddel to Sweden. Later, the dog will help to save his life.
• Cerebus Syndrome: The first two parts are essentially about the harmless (mis)adventures of schoolchildren, although the issue of Paul's family's poverty is treated with the utmost respect. The third book involves the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship in Germany, though the book is still pretty tame about it, partly because half of it takes part outside of Germany. From the forth part onward, the story doesn't pull any punches anymore and isn't afraid to kill off major characters.
• The Charmer: Mr. Brackmann, Erwin's father, is described as a highly charismatic man who easily makes friends and tends to be on good terms with everybody he meets. He is explicitly contrasted with Mr. Richter, Paul's father, who is described as a shy and insecure man who is difficult to get along with. This is strongly implied to be the reason why the latter early on loses his job at the factory, while the former gets to keep his.
• Childhood Marriage Promise: Erwin and Miriam make one in part 2. Nothing comes of it, since Miriam prefers Mackie. She feels a little guilty, though Erwin isn't hung up about it.
• Circus Brat: Cimbalo.
• Dark and Troubled Past: "Mackenzie King"
• Emergency Food Supply Animal: Paul and Sergey took the rabbits Ewi and Mi with them. Sergey has to kill them, since Paul can't do it.
• Evil Cripple: Bartel is treated as this by the other characters, including his own parents. He is admittedly a rather cocky Bratty Half-Pint, but he is still a child, so he can be considered Unintentionally Sympathetic.
• Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Several titles.
• Fauxreigner: A magician who lives on their block and is quite secretive in general. But soon he reveals that he's from Saxony, as you can hear.
• First-Person Perspective: Miriam in #6, Erwin in #8.
• Frame Story: Book 6 is told from Miriam's perspective, book 8 from Erwin's.
• Girls Have Cooties: When Miriam wants to join their gang, many boys are against her, thinking that all girls are oversensitive and want to do nothing but playing with baby dolls.
• Glamour Failure: A woman in #8 compares the story of The Nazis to a Fairy Tale, where a man gets seduced by a witch, an elven queen (or so), thinks he lives like a king in a palace, only to discover one day that she used illusions and lies and he really lived on a garbage heap all the time and even ate garbage. "We have eaten garbage^note the nazi propaganda all the time and found it delicious."
• Heroic BSoD: Erwin's father is shocked when he realizes that the iron ore he mines in Kiruna is also shipped to Germany - to make weapons.
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: Heiner is shot immediately by Willi after he takes the Last-Second Chance Erwin offers him.
• If You're So Evil, Eat This Kitten!: Paul has a shellshocked, pacifist teacher. Peer pressure of the other Hitler boys makes him tell him off.
• Important Haircut: When Miriam disguises as "Joshua".
• Initiation Ceremony: When the ship of the refugees crosses the equator. It involves the ship's cook disguised as Neptune, king of the ocean, and two passengers (a painter and an actress) as his daughters.
• Insistent Terminology: "Mackenzie King" wants to be called this, though Miriam suspects it's not his real name. Note: At this time, Mackenzie King was the real PM of Canada.
• Intrepid Reporter: Looking for what happened to Ruth.
• I Reject Your Reality: When Erwin returns to Berlin and meets Heiner and Willi, he tells them to face that Germany's defeated and Hitler is dead. This makes Heiner go crazy for a moment:
  Heiner: He lives! He will return!
• Jerkass: Heiner sometimes, and especially Willy. Later, they'll become active in the Hitler Youth.
• Jerkass Cripple: Bartel, who's hunchbacked and not too happy about it.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Mrs. Manasse, Miriam's aunt. She starts as a shrew who constantly criticizes the kids, but gets better.
• Karma Houdini: Willy doesn't get punished for shooting Erwin and Heiner.
• Kissing the Ground: Sergey, when he learns that they're safe in Switzerland.
• Massive Numbered Siblings: Erwin has four of them.
• Mistaken Nationality: Miriam (she has a Polish last name, looks darker than the other kids, but is really German)
• Nazi Germany: Establishes between books #2 and 3, ends in #8.
• Multinational Team: By the end of the books, they have youths included in their group from a pretty wide range of countries.
• The Nicknamer: Miriam invents Erwin's nickname, Sternenhimmel (starred sky), because he has so many freckles.
• One of the Boys: Miriam. She later evolves into a full-blown Spirited Young Lady once she gets to America.
• Redemption Equals Death:
  • Bartel dies when he saves toddler Ruth from being bitten by a snake, which bites him instead. They try to save him, but it's too late.
  • Willy shoots Erwin in book #8. Heiner shouts that Willy did it and gets killed by him. Erwin survives, but suffers.
• Road Apples: In The Series, the boys make a bit of money by collecting them and sell them as fertilizer.
• Robinsonade: #5
• The Series: Was made in Germany in 1979/80, based loosely on the first two books. It ends in a fight between Erwin and Paul (who joined the Hitler Youth) which wasn't in the book.
• "Shaggy Dog" Story: "Das Schiff ohne Hafen" means "The ship with no haven" in german.
• Spell My Name with a Blank: The US warship which saves the kids from the island. Miriam calls it in her story: "The four ***" (since the name shall stay secret).
• Spell My Name With An S: Miriam or Mirjam? Willi or Willy? The series isn't totally consistent.
• Starving Artist: A painter on the ship in #4. She dies when the ship sinks.
• The Stateless: Miriam meets several stateless persons along her aboard in Das Schiff ohne Hafen. Justified since many of them are fleeing Nazi Germany and the rest of Central Europe to go in Latin America.
• Too Dumb to Live: Ruth in part 5 near the end catches a poisonous snake and only by pure dumb luck holds it in a way that it cannot bite her. Bartel saves her at the cost of his own life.
• Twofer Token Minority: Miriam is Jewish, mistaken for Polish, and wants to become member in a boy's gang.
• We Named the Monkey "Jack":
  • Paul has named his two rabbits "Ewi" and "Mi", as a remembrance of his emigrated friends Erwin and Miriam.
  • In Kiruna, Erwin and Mikolai catch a reindeer and christen it "Ome", after a lost eskimo who ended up among the Lapps (Sami). And later, they meet the human Ome.

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