Der Wehrwolf

This article is about the German novel. For the Japanese light novel series, see Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight.

Der Wehrwolf ^{[note 1]} is a novel by German journalist and writer Hermann Löns, first published in 1910.^[1]

Der Wehrwolf

Title page of the first edition
Author	Hermann Löns
Translator	Robert Kvinnesland
Language	German
Genre	Historical fiction
Publication date	1910
Publication place	Germany
Published in English	2006
Media type	Print
Pages	244 (first edition)
ISBN	9781594160264
OCLC	7319253
Dewey Decimal	833.8
LC Class	PT2623.O36 W4 1922 (German edition) PT2623.O36 W413 2006 (translation)
Text	Der Wehrwolf at Project Gutenberg

Plot summary

The Thirty Years' War is at its height while the peasantry suffers under countless marauders. The protagonist Harm Wulf, a peasant, lost his family in the first years of war; he becomes the defending Wulf (wehrender Wulf) by defending a hill fort and its surrounding carr with peasants hiding from the pillaging hordes. Harm Wulf gathers allies until 121 men are in the Alliance of the Wehrwolf. After peace is restored, Harm Wulf is a grim old man.

Reception

Published in 1910, Der Wehrwolf became a bestseller in Germany with its nationalist content. Near the end of the Second World War, young Luftwaffenhelfers and children were encouraged to read the novel to promote guerrilla warfare against the Allies (to act like a We(h)rwolf).^[2]

See also

• Wolfsangel, an emblem used by the protagonist of the book

Notes

1. A portmanteau combining the German words for "defence" and "wolf"; usually translated into English as Warwolf