Friedrich Wolf, “Cyankali” 1929 (Part 1)

This activity should take about one class day, and is part of a 2-day mini-unit which discusses the play Cyankali. The play is about 70 pages long, and thus students will have 35 pages of reading per day of the unit. 

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Reproductive Rights: Cyankali by Friedrich Wolf, Part 1

Conceptual Frames and Background

Performing and receiving abortions has been explicitly illegal in Germany since the 1800s. Specifically, Paragraph 218 made abortions illegal under German law. Although there has always been a fight for reproductive freedom in German territories, the abortion debate became a main issue in WWI and Weimar Germany. Many factors led to this- women were becoming more active in the workplace either by choice or of necessity to provide for their families, the financial crisis prohibited women and couples from starting families, extramarital sex became more accepted, and working class German women did not want to create “cannon fodder” for future wars. 

For those found guilty of seeking abortion care, they would serve jail time. Doctors and medical professionals who provided abortions actually served longer sentences, often upwards of 10 years. 

Making abortions illegal, however, did not stop women from getting them. Wealthy women could afford to travel to other countries where abortion was legal, or could pay a price to have a medical professional perform an illegal abortion. For the majority of women, this was impossible- and thus they were forced to find alternative ways to terminate pregnancy by visiting a so-called angel maker or by undergoing painful and often deadly treatments. 

One method of treatment was the now well-known poison, cyanide, which taken in small doses can be effective in terminating pregnancy. However, women often were instructed to or felt compelled to take too high of a dose, resulting in sickness or death. Friedrich Wolf’s play is the story of such a case.

Introduction

Frierich Wolf was not only an author and activist, but was also a trained medical professional and performed abortions, for which he was arrested in 1931. Wolf wrote and staged Cyankali to expose the inequality and trauma behind Germany’s abortion legislation, and to create a greater public discussion surrounding the termination of pregnancies. The piece, first performed in 1929 in Berlin, was performed in big cities around the globe, including New York, Hong Kong, Paris, Munich, and London. Wolf suggested in following performances of the play throughout the 30s and 40s that the global popularity of the play suggested that the issue of abortion access was not only German, but international.

In his later introductions to the play, he reiterates the real numbers regarding illegal abortion in Germany- between 500,000 and 800,000 women receive illegal abortions, of which 10,000 die, and 50,000 become sick. He references several real-life cases of women who sought abortions for reasons of health or financial burden who became ill or died as a result. In one case, he quotes the case of a mother of 3 who works at a construction site to care for her children and injured WWI veteran husband, and who considers terminating her pregnancy because she is unable to provide for yet another person. She laments:

Ich liebe meine Kinder, aber jetzt bin ich verzweifelt. Wie soll dieses Kind gebettet, gewindelt, genährt werden? Ich muss um die Gesundheit dieses Kindes jetzt schon bangen, lange vor der Geburt…Ich stehe vor dem schwersten Konflikt meines Lebens. (166)

Wolf was particularly interested in advocating for women’s medical and financial freedom, and expressed that his goal was to foster a better and more stable world for women so that they might feel ready and able to have children without needing to suffer.

Preparation

• Briefly summarize the main ideas of each act in their own words (English or German)
• Consider these discussion questions:
  • What are the living conditions of Hete and her family/roommates? Why is Hete not prepared to bring another person into the home?
  • What does Kuckuck contribute to the dynamic of the home, and more importantly, to the context of the play? What is the purpose of this character for us, the audience?
    • Kuckuck reports the news and world events. He is aware of everything happening outside of the home, and can bring the broader context of world and historical conditions to the stage for the audience. We see, through him, that Hete is not only poor and hungry, but that the worsening conditions of Germany and the world at the time are what impacts her. Hete’s financial situation is entirely out of her control, and yet she must suffer for it. 
    • Students might also note that “Kuckuck” is the German equivalent of “cuckoo”, as in cuckoo clock or Kuckucksuhr. They might notice the reference to the passage of time or Hete’s lack of time.
  • What are Hete’s reasons, as stated explicitly in the play, for seeking an abortion? What are the various obstacles which stand in her way as she tries to obtain one? 
    • Students might see how Hete’s reasons reflect the real historical examples of women who sought illegal abortions at the time. In particular, her discussion with the doctor when she states that she would eventually love a child with Paul, but cannot care for one right now, might be striking for students. 
    • Beyond the illegality of abortion, students might discuss how Prosnick, the landlord, will only perform the abortion if he can also take advantage of Hete, Paul is unable to perform the abortion for her, the doctor explains how he can do nothing about the law but at the same time performs and abortion for the “Dame”, etc.

Text and Discussion

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To begin, use the information provided above to introduce the context of the play, and to talk about Friedrich Wolf and the play’s reception. It is important that students get this context in some way.

Work through the play act by act. Break students into 4 groups, and ask them each to prepare a summary of the act in their own words. As you discuss each act, call attention to these details or points of discussion:

Act 1:

• What kind of living situation are Hete and Paul in? How is the apartment, food, and supplies split?
• How do Hete and Paul initially react when they discuss Hete’s pregnancy? 
  • They discuss the possibility of having the child. Even though their living conditions are poor, at the moment of their discussion they were both in senior positions at their places of employment, and thus could consider having the child. Once the businesses are closed, having the child is no longer an option. 

Act 2:

• Discuss with the students the conversation at the beginning of act 2 which discusses the financial crisis. The tenants and administrator discuss stock prices, suicide, inflation, strikes, and the closing of workplaces. Why does this discussion remain relevant throughout a play about abortion?
• How do you understand Paul’s reaction to both Frau Witt’s death and Hete’s request for him to perform the abortion for Hete? 

Act 3:

• Students might want to discuss how they view Max and Paul stealing for food the group. 
• Why, and in response to what,  does Paul finally tell Hete to go to the doctor?
  • After everyone lost their jobs (119)

Act 4:

• Compare the doctor’s interaction with the Dame and with Hete. Why does he treat the Dame so differently?
  • The quick answer is, of course, that the Dame can afford to pay him for the abortion, whereas Hete cannot.
• Hete tells the doctor that he is the one sending her to places where she might find an illegal and dangerous abortion, and the doctor suggests that he is only doing his job and following the law. What do students think the doctor should have done, and perhaps more importantly, what is Wolf suggesting the doctor should have done? Keep in mind, of course, Wolf was a medical professional who performed abortions and was subsequently arrested for it. 

Finally, students should discuss the discussion questions from the reading. They may also wish to predict what will happen to Hete as the play continues, based on what they have learned about Wolf and the historical cases of working-class women in search of abortions at the time. 

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