To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:50:54 +0000
Subject: [Puptcrit] Indoctrination/Sandmaennchen


Hi Jon,

As I understand it there were two versions.

I reprint below an excerpt from Wikipedia which says that there were  
two versions.

Two versions of Sandm=E4nnchen were created: one in East Germany (Unser  
Sandm=E4nnchen), and one in West Germany (Das Sandm=E4nnchen).
The original idea came from Ilse Obrig of West Berlin TV and radio  
station Sender Freies Berlin (SFB), who with the help of author  
Johanna Sch=FCppel, developed a working version in 1958. The Little  
Sandman himself first appeared on screen in West Berlin in  
Sandm=E4nnchens Gru=DF f=FCr Kinder (Sandm=E4nnchen's Greeting to Children) on  
1 December 1958, and other episodes were soon developed.
However, on 22 November 1959 (less than three weeks after the  
production had started), East German television (Deutscher  
Fernsehfunk, DFF) began broadcasting Unser Sandm=E4nnchen with its own  
"good night, children" character, also called Sandm=E4nnchen.
Created by the puppetmaster and director Gerhard Behrendt, the show  
represented everyday life, travel, and fantastic adventure, as well as  
a certain amount of propaganda. The title character bore a startling  
resemblance to the then leader of the DDR, Walter Ulbricht, and the  
show was often a showcase for DDR and Socialist technology and  
success. This is one of the reasons why he often arrived in amazing  
vehicles like futuristic cars and flying devices.
The production of the Western version of Sandm=E4nnchen ceased in 1991,  
following the unification of Germany. However, episodes from the DFF  
show are still run on German television today.

John Dudley




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