About the work
A tragedy in three acts by Ernst Toller, written in 1921/22 during his imprisonment at Niederschönenfeld fortress and published in 1923 under the title "Der deutsche Hinkemann." It premiered on 19 September 1923 at the Altes Theater Leipzig, directed by Alwin Kronacher; a revised version, under the shorter title "Hinkemann" used ever since, opened on 14 April 1924 at Berlin's Residenz-Theater.
Plot
The war veteran Eugen Hinkemann returns from the war castrated and earns his living at fairgrounds by biting the throats of live rats. His wife Grete, who has turned to his friend Großhahn, seeks reconciliation after witnessing this degrading act, but Hinkemann rejects her and she takes her own life.
Cultural significance
The play's stark imagery and its subject of a war-maimed veteran provoked protests; later performances in Dresden, Berlin and Vienna required police protection against Nazi disruptions.