Fritzi is the front-line derogatory nickname of the Germans. Used by British soldiers during the First World War [1] . In the USSR it was used during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 [2] [3] .
Fritz ( German: Fritz ) - a characteristic German name, can be both complete and diminutive on behalf of Friedrich . In a similar dismissive vein, the name Fritz was used in other Allied armies [4] . Less commonly, German soldiers were called “Hans,” according to another common German name, Hans . The Germans themselves similarly called the Soviet soldiers " Ivanov ."
Content
Origin
According to one version [5], the nickname Fritz was originally introduced into use by the Germans themselves. The legendary Barbarossa , after whom the plan of attack on the Soviet Union was named, and the author of this plan, Paulus , had the same name: Frederick. In the midst of staff workers, the Barbarossa plan began to be called diminutively: "Fritz." And then this nickname migrated across the front line, becoming the derogatory nickname of Wehrmacht soldiers and Germans in general.
However, this expression was sometimes used even during the First World War. For example, in the article “Seven Days in the“ Pit “” (“Niva” magazine, No. 4 for 1917) [6] the Germans, in addition to the “Huns,” are called “Fritzes”:
How unfortunate Fritz tremble when we take them prisoner. They think that our “ tank ” is a meat grinder, that we intend to make sausages from them. We hardly explained to them that, as soon as they surrendered, they were unharmed.
Usage Examples
According to K. M. Simonov , this nickname arose and became widespread among the troops in the fall of 1941:
“It takes longer to Vyazma,” said the driver. - Although it’s close, it goes all the way through Moscow ... Vyazma is from the Smolensk region, and Smolensk is from the Fritz!
Sintsov almost asked again: “What?”. The word "Fritz" he heard for the first time.
“Now we call the fascists that way -“ Fritz ”, - noticing the perplexity that slipped across Sintsov’s face, the driver eagerly explained. - Did not hear there, surrounded?
“They have not heard,” replied Zolotarev instead of Sintsov.
“That means they are completely divorced from the world,” the chauffeur laughed.
The nickname "Fritz" for the Wehrmacht soldiers was widely used in everyday communication, propaganda and art. Examples of this use are the poster Kukryniksy , which had a poetic signature (text by D. Poor ):
Here, where the windows are all - loopholes,
Here where the bushes melt death
Here, swallowing a stranger stranger,
Fooled "Fritz"
Turn into crosses.
The nickname survived the war that gave rise to it and continued to be used in its former meaning. So, for example, in the song of Mikhail Nozhkin “Last battle” there are lines:
Fourth year we have no living from these Fritz,
Fourth year, salty sweat and blood by the river ...
Nowadays
In 2008, Estonian director Arbo Tammiksaar ( Est. Arbo Tammiksaar ) shot the documentary film “ Fritz and Blondes ” ( Est. Fritsud ja blondiinid ) - about the Baltic actors who embodied the images of the Nazis in Soviet cinema.
In the American army, modern PASGT helmets are nicknamed “Fritz helmets” ( English fritz helmet ), as they repeat the shape of German helmets during World War II.
Notes
- ↑ Magical Slang: Ritual, Language and Trench Slang of the Western Front (Retrieved September 11, 2013)
- ↑ Fritzi - The Modern Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language Efremova
- ↑ Walter X., Mokienko V.M. Large Dictionary of Russian Nicknames . - Olma Media Group, 2007 .-- S. 567. - 701 p. - ISBN 9785373004350 .
- ↑ Irving Allen. The Language of Ethnic Conflict: Social Organization and Lexical Culture . - Columbia University Press, 1983. - S. 57. - ISBN 0231055579 .
- ↑ Segen A. Barbarossa drowned in the Volga // Our Contemporary. - 2003. - No. 2 .
- ↑ Seven days in the "tub" // Journal "Niva". - 1917. - No. 4 .
Links
See also
- Bosh
- John Bull
- Jew
- Yankee
- Ivan
- Fritz