Heinrich Hoffmann (June 13, 1809 in Frankfurt am Main; September 20, 1894 in Frankfurt am Main) was a German psychiatrist, poet, and children’s book author. He is the author of Struwwelpeter (The Struwwel Peter). He also used the pseudonyms Heulalius von Heulenburg, Reimerich Kinderlieb, Peter Struwwel, and Polycarpus Gastfenger.
Politics
In 1848, he was a member of the Frankfurt Preliminary Parliament. He hosted the revolutionary Friedrich Hecker in his household. Hoffmann himself advocated a constitutional monarchy under Prussian rule and was a member of the Hereditary Imperial Party. In his satirical works “Handbook for Diggers or Concise Instructions on Becoming a People’s Man in a Few Days” (1848) and “The Howler Mirror” (1849), he strongly opposed the republicans. In 1866, he supported the annexation of the Free City of Frankfurt by Prussia.
Literarische Werke
From 1842 onwards, Hoffmann published poems and plays under various pseudonyms. He described himself as an occasional verse writer. He became known worldwide through his children’s book, Struwwelpeter, which he illustrated himself and wrote for his eldest son for Christmas 1844. Presumably in 1858, Hoffmann created a new version with modified illustrations; all subsequent editions of Struwwelpeter are based on this.
In 1851, he published his Christmas fairy tale “King Nutcracker and Poor Reinhold.” The first edition was illustrated with a drawing by the author depicting the Frankfurt Christmas market.
After his retirement, he wrote his memoirs, which were not published until 1926.
Memberships, Private Life
As a student in Heidelberg, Hoffmann had been a member of the Corps Alemannia since 1830, later an honorary member.[3] In 1836, he joined the Masonic lodge “Zur Einigkeit.” After a few years, he left because it did not admit Jews.[4]
In the fall of 1840, Hoffmann founded the Society of Tutti Frutti and its Baths in the Ganges in Frankfurt am Main, a society of writers, artists, and scholars whose members adopted specially chosen “fruit names.” Hoffmann himself was the “Onion.” The members included Franz Xaver Schnyder von Wartensee (“Pine Cone”), Ludwig Braunfels (“Chestnut”), Wilhelm Speyer (“Betel”), Theodor Creizenach (“Deadly Nightshade”), Carl Trost (“Thorn Apple”), Friedrich Maximilian Hessemer (“Date”), Eduard Schmidt von der Launitz (“Juniper”), Lorenz Diefenbach (“Strawberry”), Georg Eduard Steitz (“Nut 2”), Johann David Passavant (“Pomeranian Orange”), Heinrich von Rustige (“Nut”) and Philipp Veit (“Fennel”).
Interesting humorous version of Struwwelpeter by Böhmermann:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–X5XjyynMw
In 1845, he co-founded a medical association and composed “Wine Songs for Doctors” for social occasions.
He died after a stroke and was buried in Frankfurt’s Main Cemetery (at the Wall, No. 541, honorary grave).[6]
A street in Frankfurt-Niederrad is named after him, where the Clinic for Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy of the Frankfurt University Hospital is now located. Two museums are dedicated to him, as are several memorial plaques at his former residences in Frankfurt.
Dice Game
Mr. Fix von Bickenbach’s Journey Around the World in 77 Days, Struwwelpeter Museum, Frankfurt am Main, 2012. Available as a facsimile in a slipcase.[7]
Museum
The Heinrich Hoffmann and Struwwelpeter Museum has been located in Frankfurt am Main since 1977, providing information about the life and work of this man and his classic children’s book.[8] In September 2019, the museum, now known as “Struwwelpeter,” moved to its current location.-Museum“, in das Haus zum Esslinger in der Neuen Frankfurter Altstadt.[9]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Hoffmann_(author)
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Hoffmann