Urmel from the ice, Lukas the engine driver or robber Hotzenplotz – they all shaped the childhood of millions of people. The Augsburger Puppenkiste has given the role models of our youth a new face, one made of wood. And their stories are told in a very special way. Today the family business is 75 years old. And the end of the nostalgic puppet theater is far from in sight – fortunately. Especially in uncertain times like these, we should keep a piece of nostalgia.
We have the Wehrmacht soldier at the time, Walter Oehmichen, to thank for the magical adventures in which we were allowed to accompany the self-carved dolls over the course of time. When the man from Augsburg was stationed in a school in Calais, he discovered a small puppet theater. In order to distract his comrades from the horrors of war, he begins making little figures – first out of cardboard, later out of wood.
The rest is history: first public performance on February 26, 1948 in a former hospital in Augsburg’s old town – “Puss in Boots” is shown. In January 1953, the Puppenkiste was shown on television for the first time with the children’s program “Peter and the Wolf”. With Jim Button and Lukas the engine driver, the Puppenkiste brought two new heroes to the screen in 1961 – made entirely of wood and with a cheeky mouth, of course.
The bold tone, the creatively modified cult stories and their own fairy tales, which over the years have repeatedly taken children and adults into new worlds, that is what makes the Augsburger Puppenkiste so magical. The creators of the puppet theater have always wanted to tell stories that draw people in. Social problems, worries and fears should stay outside for a while. At least mostly.
Because the Swabians made an exception, in the coronavirus pandemic. Together with the Bavarian Ministry of Culture, the makers of the Augsburger Puppenkiste have produced an explanatory film. In it, Kasperl explained in broad Swabian language why vaccination is worthwhile. A charming solution to a complex social problem that caught on: the film went viral.
The Augsburger Puppenkiste may not have aged well in every respect, but it is a piece of contemporary history, a constant that you can hold on to if you ever lose your grip. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Urmel from the Ice, Robber Hotzenplotz or another resident of the Puppenkiste – they all remind us of days long gone.
Of moments when we sat in front of the TV, perhaps wrapped up in a cozy blanket, with a cocoa in one hand and a biscuit in the other, and let ourselves be carried away into a world that is so different from ours. Maybe a bit crazier, sometimes a bit more exciting and often healed.
Yes, the Augsburger Puppenkiste is pure nostalgia. And that’s why we should keep them while we can. We haven’t been able to find them on television for a long time, but they are back in the classic form: in the puppet theater in Augsburg’s old town. Many of the approximately 6,000 figures that “live” over time are now also in the Museum of the Puppet Theater. So if you want to see your wooden stars from the old days live again, you are in good hands in Augsburg. However, you should hurry up – the performances until May are already fully booked.
This is not only a good sign for the directors of the puppet theater. Because it shows that the journey can continue for the popular wooden heroes. And that also means that, thanks to Urmel, Jim Button and Co., we will still have the opportunity for a very long time to remember a time when the most important question was who lived in the “Mupfel” and which cookies you eat while Urmel tries to find the answer to the question.
