Threads of Remembrance: Exploring Materiality and Resilience in Thomas Hettche's "Herzfaden"

Herzfaden is a 2020 novel that, on the surface, is a tribute to the Augsburger Puppenkiste, a family marionette theater founded in Germany during World War II that adapted contemporary works for a post-war television audience, creating cultural memories for generations. Author Thomas Hettche tells the story through the testimony of the youngest daughter, Hannelore “Hatü” Oehmichen, appearing in fairy-tale fashion as a ghost in the present, before a modern-day young girl dealing with her parents’ divorce. Hettche’s fairytale-framed narration is a new addition to the genre of Germany’s 21st-century Erinnerungsliteratur. While many critics have acknowledged the book’s unique layout, design, and physical features as a nod to Die unendliche Geschichte, a 1979 youth novel by Michael Ende, with its features of an embossed cover and dual ink passages for present and the fictitious worlds, there has yet to be a more in-depth analysis of these similarities regarding their underlying role and purpose. This research closely examines the materiality of Herzfaden–both the physical features of the book as well as selected objects in the narrative itself, to reveal layers of communication that speak to multiple generations of German readers, facilitating an experience that connects multi-generational readers to the history of the marionette theater, and Germany’s troubled past. Materiality in Herzfaden, using objects as touchpoints, thus anchors readers in shared human experiences and promotes an engaged reading experience, offering an alternative way to create a memorable and relatable understanding of historical events.