The Mystery of Donald Duck in Germany.

donaldduckHere is my second big mystery about Germany. Donald Duck is extremely popular in Germany. Over 250,000 Donald Duck comic books are sold in Germany every week; however, Donald Duck in Germany is very, very different from the Donald Duck we know in the United States. In the U.S., Donald Duck is foolish, hot-headed, and dim-witted; but in Germany, Donald Duck is just the opposite. In Germany, Donald Duck is sophisticated, articulate, cultured, and well-read. Donald discusses philosophy, science, and literature with intelligence. He also frequently discusses politics and is sometimes quoted by German politicians. So – how did Donald Duck in Germany become so different from the American Donald Duck? Can you imagine our American Donald Duck discussing Viking mythology and Wagner’s operas with his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie?

DONALD DUCK IN EAST GERMANY.

 

Surprisingly, Donald Duck comics were both legal and widely-read in East Germany, but that was because the communist government in East Berlin saw Donald Duck as a critique of capitalism. Children in East German schools were told that Dagobert (Scrooge McDuck) was the ‘arch-prototype of capitalist greed and exploitation’. Well, that was true. Uncle Scrooge was both very rich and very greedy. Donald Duck symbolized the ‘downtrodden proletariat’ and his nephews Tick, Trick, and Tack (Huey, Dewey and Louie) were ‘socialist youth’ learning to become ‘good communists.’ I wonder what Walt Disney thought of this. He was notoriously and fiercely anti-communist.