Wrobel - Der Tucholsky-Podcast · Frank Dittmer

Kurt Tucholsky: Vierzehn Käfige und einer (1925)

·11 min·1 clip

Fourteen cages and one: what hidden stories of political prisoners and forgotten suffering lie within these ancient walls?

The episode features Frank Dittmer performing Kurt Tucholsky's 1925 essay 'Fourteen Cages and One.' It opens with the repetitive phrase 'Fourteen cages and one,' setting a rhythmic, haunting tone. Tucholsky describes visiting the Château d'If, a historic prison island off Marseille, detailing its architecture: cells with iron bars, blackened walls from old fireplaces, and small grated windows offering glimpses of the sea. He lists notable inmates, including political prisoners, a rich merchant from Marseille, a sailor who served 31 years, Abbé Faria, and Edmond Dantès from Dumas' novel. The essay contrasts historical imprisonment methods, like the lettre de cachet used for arbitrary detention, with modern judicial systems requiring full trials. Tucholsky vividly portrays the sensory deprivation prisoners endured, hearing only guards' footsteps or ship noises, and sometimes roaring like animals. He notes the chapel's presence as a hypocritical religious veneer over cruelty. Graffiti covers the walls, left by both visitors and inmates. A guide named Grosson once entertained tourists with a ventriloquist act pretending to be a forgotten prisoner. Tucholsky descends into a square courtyard, comparing it to Van Gogh's work in its despairing design, and reflects on its practicality for surveillance. This leads him to think of a contemporary prisoner in Germany, Hölz, held in solitary confinement for years without visits, punished for mocking judges he intellectually surpassed. The essay critiques state revenge against those who remain upright, highlighting how republics legitimize such treatment. It concludes as the ship departs, leaving the island like a petrified animal, with Tucholsky noting that suffering began under François I and continues under Friedrich I with over seven thousand communists imprisoned. The format is a solo reading of a literary essay, blending descriptive narrative with political commentary, recurring themes of isolation, state power, and historical continuity in oppression.

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