Max und Moritz is a German childhood book that lots of children grow up reading. The story is about two young boys, Max and Mortiz, who pull various amounts of pranks on their neighbors even though they were lectured by their parents not to. For example, they killed their neighbor’s chickens, broke bridges a neighbor needed to cross to the other side, filled a smoking pipe with shotgun powder so it explodes when used, and filled a neighbor’s bed with beetles and other insects. Their last and final prank leads to their death. When sneaking into the baker’s home to steal bread both tripped while on the ladder, resulting in them falling into the dough. As the baker was aware of the continued stress and trouble the boys brought to the town, he took the dough-covered boys and stuffed them into the fire oven. Once done baking the boys ate themselves free and escaped. They found themselves pulling their final prank by cutting open the bags of grain, unfortunately, they were discovered, brought to the grain compression sight, and turned into bread crumbs. Their continued pranks and misbehavior lead to their ultimate death. As this is one of the many stories German children are exposed to, it proves that from a young age German parents value that their children are well-behaved by engraving the worst possible outcome in their heads. Even though I have spent most of my life in the US, I still grew up with German cultural values such as appropriate behavior. This book is something that traveled with me from Munich to NYC and serves as a reminder of my identity. 

– Emma Luehring

Relationship:  Im/migrant who arrived as a child Im/migrant who arrived as a child