Carl Zuckmayer
A playwright who captured the robust humor and moral complexities of German life, first with roaring comedy and later with sober reflection from exile.
1896–1977 (age 81)·German writer and playwright·Birthday: December 27·The Lost Generation
Biography
Carl Zuckmayer's literary career was a barometer of 20th-century German history. He first found massive success in the Weimar Republic with 'The Merry Vineyard,' a raucous folk comedy that scandalized some with its earthy language but made him a household name. His masterpiece, 'The Captain of Köpenick,' used a true story to craft a brilliant satire on Prussian authoritarianism and the blind power of a uniform. When the Nazis rose to power, his work was banned for its democratic spirit and his own partial Jewish heritage, forcing him into exile, first in Austria and then in the United States, where he worked as a farmer in Vermont. His post-war writing, including the play 'The Devil's General,' grappled directly with the German experience under Nazism. Zuckmayer's voice evolved from boisterous comedy to a deeply humanist, often melancholic examination of guilt, responsibility, and resilience.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Carl was born in 1896, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Carl Was Born
The biggest hits of 1896
Carl's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1896Born
First modern Olympic Games held in Athens
President: Grover Cleveland
1901Started school
Queen Victoria dies, ending the Victorian era
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1909Became a teenager
Robert Peary claims to reach the North Pole
President: William Howard Taft
1912Could drive
Titanic sinks on its maiden voyage
President: William Howard Taft
1914Could vote
World War I begins
President: Woodrow Wilson
1917Turned 21
Russian Revolution overthrows the tsar; US enters WWI
President: Woodrow Wilson
1926Turned 30
Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket
President: Calvin Coolidge"Baby Face" — Jan Garber
1936Turned 40
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1946Turned 50
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1956Turned 60
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1966Turned 70
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1976Turned 80
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1977Died at 81
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
Key Achievements
- Wrote the hugely successful folk comedy 'Der fröhliche Weinberg' (The Merry Vineyard) in 1925.
- Authored the classic satire 'The Captain of Köpenick' (1931), a critical examination of authority and identity.
- Received the Georg Büchner Prize, Germany's most prestigious literary award, in 1929.
- Wrote the drama 'Des Teufels General' (The Devil's General) in 1946, a major post-war work dealing with the Nazi era.
- Was awarded the Goethe Prize of the city of Frankfurt in 1952 for his lifetime contribution to German literature.
Did You Know?
He served as a soldier in World War I and was decorated with the Iron Cross.
During his American exile, he and his wife bought a farm in Barnard, Vermont.
His godfather was the famous painter and poet Wilhelm von Gloeden.
Zuckmayer's second wife, Alice Herdan, was an actress and author.
He became a Swiss citizen in 1966 and spent his final years in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.
“In the beginning there is always a dream. The dream is the feeling, and the feeling is the power.”
