An Accidental Criminologist

: Representations of Incarceration and Incorrigibility in Hans Fallada's Prisoner Literature

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the prisoner literature of the German author Hans Fallada
(1893-1947), who was imprisoned for periods during both the Weimar Republic and Third
Reich. The corpus for the project includes his 1924 and 1944 prison diaries, and the novels
Wer einmal aus dem Blechnapf frißt (1934) and Der Trinker (published posthumously in
1950). These historically situated accounts are explored from an inter-disciplinary
perspective rooted in criminology to assess the extent to which their representations of
incarceration and ‘incorrigibility’ reflect debates and developments in criminological thinking
and shifts in German penal policy over the course of the historical timeframe. It is argued
that, through his roles as a participant observer, chronicler and critic of the German penal
project, Fallada can be considered to have been an ‘accidental criminologist’, whose
advocacy for the values of decency and humanity continues to have contemporary
relevance.

Date of Award	17 Jun 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Supervisor	Benedict Schofield (Supervisor) & Steffan G Davies (Supervisor)