Heinrich Mann, Professor Unrat oder Das Ende eines Tyrannen [Small Town Tyrant]

Stephen Grollman (Concordia College)

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Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Nicole Kennedy (University of Newcastle), Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1905

Places

Germany (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Heinrich Mann’s

Professor Unrat oder Das Ende eines Tyrannen

[

Small Town Tyrant

, 1905] is a novel about a tyrannical schoolteacher who, because of an affair with a cabaret artist, loses his job, at which point he teams up with his lover to take revenge upon his enemies in his hometown. The novel is rich in both psychological insight and social critique of Wilhelmine Germany. The protagonist’s name is Immanuel Raat, but he is known to pupils and teachers alike by his nickname, “Unrat” [garbage, rubbish]. He lives up to this name both through his dirty and disheveled appearance and a cruel, authoritarian teaching style. He takes delight in punishing students who misbehave, especially those who use his nickname, by sending them to the coat closet for detention, and threatening to…

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2201 words

Citation: Grollman, Stephen. "Professor Unrat oder Das Ende eines Tyrannen". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 August 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16855, accessed 01 April 2025.]