I was very positively surprised by this book. I first read it about a decade ago and didn't enjoy it at all. I think I didn't take my time then and maybe I didn't have enough background knowledge. It is an epic poem, written in rhymed verse, which might have put me off as well.
This time, I chuckled almost nonstop because I found it so funny. The depiction of German "woodenness" and people's opinions and reactions in certain situations are spot on.
In 1844, Heinrich Heine returned home to Germany after thirteen years in France. He had left Germany because of censorship and because he was against Prussian politics, and also because as someone born Jewish, he had no chance of a career in his legal profession, although he even had converted to Christianity.
In this text he describes his thoughts, feelings and observations during his trip from the French border back to Hamburg, stopping in Aix la Chapelle/Aachen, Cologne, Hannover and other towns and cities. The text is very funny and ironic, which is Heine's way to circumvent the still looming scissors of censorship. It didn't really help, though: The book was banned in Prussia almost at once, and an arrest warrant was issued for Heine, he fled back to Paris.
His publisher was able to sell another edition of the Wintermärchen which was altered and smoothed.
Of course, during the Third Reich Heine's works were totally banned and he was hated frantically, not only because of being an author of Jewish ancestry, but because of his witty criticism of German habits and culture and how he portrayed the tendencies of Germans to sleep while important incidents and developments are happening that they should be cautious about or even fight. This is also what the title is about: A fairytale, a pretty and sleepy Germany that lulls him with nice food and Gemütlichkeit, while the authorities, censorship and persecution wait under the surface. ( )