Erich Kästner

Emil and the Detectives

A gang of children chases a thief across Berlin: a modern big-city children’s novel.

💡 Did you know? The book has been filmed repeatedly and translated into dozens of languages.

Lottie and Lisa

Two separated twins meet by chance at summer camp and swap roles.

💡 Did you know? Hollywood turned it into „The Parent Trap“, among others.

Satirist and poet

His „everyday poetry“ held a merciless mirror to Weimar society.

💡 Did you know? The adult novel „Fabian“ is also his.

they were burned

Kästner witnessed the book burning in Berlin from the crowd.

💡 Did you know? Unlike many colleagues he stayed in Germany and published abroad.

The Flying Classroom

Pupils rehearse a play and experience quarrels, courage and reconciliation.

💡 Did you know? The book has been filmed several times and belongs to the canon of German children’s literature.

Dot and Anton

A wealthy girl and a poor boy stick firmly together in Berlin.

💡 Did you know? As so often in Kästner, friendship rises above class boundaries.

Fabian

Subtitle „The Story of a Moralist“: a portrait of Berlin around 1931.

💡 Did you know? The novel shows that Kästner was far more than „just“ a children’s author.

Dresden

He describes his happy childhood there in the memoir „When I Was a Little Boy“.

💡 Did you know? The destruction of Dresden in 1945 affected him deeply.

Erich Kästner