and actsof imitation areessentialto thissocialization into classconscious-
ness;the same holds true forthe emotional processes involvedintraininga
classhabitusbased on solidarity.
The following three literary lessons use different forms andgenres to stage
paradigmatic scenes of proletarian identification and achievesurprisingly simi-
lar emotional effects. First lesson: always talk and act together with others, and
youwill overcomefeelings of powerlessness and worthlessness. Thisisthe sim-
ple messageofOtto Müllers’DerWagen(1922,The Cart), an agitprop skit written
by atwenty-year-old mechanic active in the SocialistWorkers’Youth. The closing
scene featuresasixteen-year-old working-classboy namedFritz who needs help
withaheavy cart but onlygets condescending lectures fromapastor,professor,
and policeman and sneering comments from passersby representingacross sec-
tion ofWeimar class society.This is the moment when twoyoung communists,
Robert and Gertrud, enter the stage:
Robert:Isaw thewhole spectacle fromthe window.Atleast fourto five people walked by
youand nobodyhelpedyou.
Gertrud(comes fromthe other side of the square): Robert,what areyou doinghere? Where
areyou going?
Robert:Oh Gertrud,Ijust wantedto help bring the cart around.
Gertrud:I’ll helptoo!
Robert:OK, then one, two,three, andwe’re out!
Fritz:At last,afew peoplewhodon’tjust tell stories, but actuallytakecharge (zugreifen)!
Robert:Yes, if we proletarians don’thelp each other,noone else will.
Gertrud:Oh, the bourgeois,away with them; they onlytell pious stories and other than that
let us do the drudgework (schuften)for them. (“for them”is stressed)
Fritz:Tell me now,who areyou thatyoutake action and offeryour help?
Robert:We’re young proletarians likeyou.
Gertrud:And we belongtothe CommunistYouth.
Fritz:Oh,r-r-r-really?
Robert:Well, let’sgo! We’ll tell youmoreonthe way.
Robert and Gertrud:Let’stakethe cart,onward, herewego! (Without effort the three take
the cart and exit.)²⁵The brief exchangecombines two equallyimportant lessons,amoral one (i.e.,
helping others) andapractical one (i.e.,getting thingsdone).Significantly,
the object that bringsthese two lessons togetherisahandcart,atellingmeta-
phor both of the power of mobility and the drudgery of physical labor.The
OttoMüller,DerWagen.Beinah einPutsch aus dem Leben junger Proletarier(Berlin:Verlag
derJugendinternationale, 1922),n.p.For an overview of proletarian children’stheater,see Ger-
hard Eikenbusch,Sozialdemokratisches und kommunistisches Kinder- undJugendtheater in der
Weimarer Republik(Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang,1997).
282 Chapter15