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Nobi
Der starke Schmied Nobi kommt aus seinem Dorf im Urwald, die Sklavenjäger zu vertreiben. Mit seiner Kraft und der Gabe, jedermann froh und freundlich zu machen nur durch einen Blick, kann er die Weißen bezwingen. Aber sie werden wiederkommen, und dann wird Nobi sie zusammen mit seinen Freunden Mafuka, dem Gorillakind, Pegu, dem wilden Elefanten, und Gingu, der schwarzen Schlange, nicht mehr aufhalten können. Deshalb läßt er die Trommel sprechen. Und schon am nächsten Tag antworten ihm dumpfe Trommelschläge, die verkünden, wohin die Weißen ziehen ...
125 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1955
4 people want to read
About the author
Ludwig Renn
24 booksLudwig Renn (22 April 1889 in Dresden – 21 July 1979 in Berlin) was a German author. Born a Saxon nobleman, he later became a committed communist and lived in East Berlin.
Ludwig Renn was the assumed name of Arnold Vieth von Golßenau who was born into a noble Saxon family whose family seat was in Golßen (Niederlausitz). He adopted the name Ludwig Renn in 1930, after becoming a communist, renouncing his noble title and taking the name of the hero of his first successful novel, Krieg (1928). His mother, Bertha, maiden name Raspe (1867 – 1949) was the daughter of a Moscow apothecary, whilst his father, Carl Johann Vieth von Golßenau (1856 – 1938), was a teacher of mathematics and physics at the Royal Court of Saxony in Dresden. Through him, Ludwig Renn came to know the Crown Prince of Saxony, Prince Friedrich August Georg von Sachsen (1865 – 1932), later King Friedrich August III, who was destined to be the last King of Saxony after the 1918 Revolution.
From 1911 Renn served as an officer in a prestigious Saxon Guards Regiment, where he served under his friend Prince Friedrich August. Between 1914 and 1918 he fought in the First World War as a company commander, and a field battalion commander on the Western Front. His first book, Krieg (War), which appeared in 1928 brought him wide acclaim. After the war he was a captain in the Dresden security police, a paramilitary force set up during the Weimar Republic. In 1920 during the Kapp Putsch, Renn refused to open fire upon striking revolutionary workers and left the police service shortly afterwards. This is recounted in the novel Nachkrieg (1930) but confirmed as a fact by some sources.
From 1920 to 1923 Renn studied law, economics, history of art and Russian philology in Göttingen and Munich. In 1923 he worked as an art dealer in Dresden during the time of hyperinflation.
During 1925 and 1926 Renn undertook a journey on foot through Europe and the Near East. In 1927 he undertook further studies in archaeology, art history and Chinese history in Vienna, returning to Germany in the same year to give lectures to workers on the history of China and Russia at the Volkshochschule Zwickau.
In 1928, the year in which he published Krieg, Renn became a member of the German Communist Party, a step which the novel Nachkrieg (1930) reflects. In the same year he joined the Roter Frontkämpferbund (‘Alliance of Red Front-Fighters’) and from 1928 to 1932 was secretary of the Alliance of Proletarian-Revolutionary Writers in Berlin (BPRS). Renn was editor of the communist journal, Linkskurve and the communist military police journal, Aufbruch. His work for the BPRS brought him into close contact with, amongst others, Anna Seghers and Johannes R Becher.
Renn's growing commitment to communism saw him travel to the USSR in 1929 and 1930. Renn found himself increasingly under attack from the National Socialists and decided to renounce his noble title in 1930, adopting the name of the hero of his novel, Krieg: Ludwig Renn. Between 1931 and 1932 he was a lecturer on the history of warfare and military theory at the Marxist Workers’ School (MASCH) in Berlin.[2] His books Nachkrieg (1930) and Rußlandfahrten (1932) made him the most important German communist writer of the inter-war period.
In 1933 following the burning of the Reichstag, new laws designed to strengthen Aldolf Hitler’s rise to power were passed and Renn was arrested together with Carl von Ossietzky und Ernst Torgler and sentenced to 30 months imprisonment in January 1934.
On his release in August 1935 he travelled to Spain where from July 1936 he joined the International Brigades who fought in support of the Spanish Republican cause as Chief of Staff for the 11th Brigade. During his service in Spain he spent time with Ernest Hemingway. He wrote an account of his time in his work, Der spanische Krieg (1955) but was unable to name Hemingway, referring to him only as 'an American' because of the ideological condemnation o
Ludwig Renn was the assumed name of Arnold Vieth von Golßenau who was born into a noble Saxon family whose family seat was in Golßen (Niederlausitz). He adopted the name Ludwig Renn in 1930, after becoming a communist, renouncing his noble title and taking the name of the hero of his first successful novel, Krieg (1928). His mother, Bertha, maiden name Raspe (1867 – 1949) was the daughter of a Moscow apothecary, whilst his father, Carl Johann Vieth von Golßenau (1856 – 1938), was a teacher of mathematics and physics at the Royal Court of Saxony in Dresden. Through him, Ludwig Renn came to know the Crown Prince of Saxony, Prince Friedrich August Georg von Sachsen (1865 – 1932), later King Friedrich August III, who was destined to be the last King of Saxony after the 1918 Revolution.
From 1911 Renn served as an officer in a prestigious Saxon Guards Regiment, where he served under his friend Prince Friedrich August. Between 1914 and 1918 he fought in the First World War as a company commander, and a field battalion commander on the Western Front. His first book, Krieg (War), which appeared in 1928 brought him wide acclaim. After the war he was a captain in the Dresden security police, a paramilitary force set up during the Weimar Republic. In 1920 during the Kapp Putsch, Renn refused to open fire upon striking revolutionary workers and left the police service shortly afterwards. This is recounted in the novel Nachkrieg (1930) but confirmed as a fact by some sources.
From 1920 to 1923 Renn studied law, economics, history of art and Russian philology in Göttingen and Munich. In 1923 he worked as an art dealer in Dresden during the time of hyperinflation.
During 1925 and 1926 Renn undertook a journey on foot through Europe and the Near East. In 1927 he undertook further studies in archaeology, art history and Chinese history in Vienna, returning to Germany in the same year to give lectures to workers on the history of China and Russia at the Volkshochschule Zwickau.
In 1928, the year in which he published Krieg, Renn became a member of the German Communist Party, a step which the novel Nachkrieg (1930) reflects. In the same year he joined the Roter Frontkämpferbund (‘Alliance of Red Front-Fighters’) and from 1928 to 1932 was secretary of the Alliance of Proletarian-Revolutionary Writers in Berlin (BPRS). Renn was editor of the communist journal, Linkskurve and the communist military police journal, Aufbruch. His work for the BPRS brought him into close contact with, amongst others, Anna Seghers and Johannes R Becher.
Renn's growing commitment to communism saw him travel to the USSR in 1929 and 1930. Renn found himself increasingly under attack from the National Socialists and decided to renounce his noble title in 1930, adopting the name of the hero of his novel, Krieg: Ludwig Renn. Between 1931 and 1932 he was a lecturer on the history of warfare and military theory at the Marxist Workers’ School (MASCH) in Berlin.[2] His books Nachkrieg (1930) and Rußlandfahrten (1932) made him the most important German communist writer of the inter-war period.
In 1933 following the burning of the Reichstag, new laws designed to strengthen Aldolf Hitler’s rise to power were passed and Renn was arrested together with Carl von Ossietzky und Ernst Torgler and sentenced to 30 months imprisonment in January 1934.
On his release in August 1935 he travelled to Spain where from July 1936 he joined the International Brigades who fought in support of the Spanish Republican cause as Chief of Staff for the 11th Brigade. During his service in Spain he spent time with Ernest Hemingway. He wrote an account of his time in his work, Der spanische Krieg (1955) but was unable to name Hemingway, referring to him only as 'an American' because of the ideological condemnation o
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 20, 2026
Schon seltsam wie sich der Text nach 60 Jahren liest:
"Die Negerlein spielten machmal leise, manchmal aber auch sehr laut, ..." (S. 5)
Trotzdem eine schöne Erinnerung an frühe Leseerlebnisse, wie bei
oder
1.Satz - Es ist schon lange her, da wurde fern in einem afrikanischen Urwalddorf ein Negerjunge geboren, der den Namen Nobi erhielt.
letzter - Die Erzählung war alt, aber das Geschehen blieb für die Neger jung, als wäre es gestern geschehen.
"Die Negerlein spielten machmal leise, manchmal aber auch sehr laut, ..." (S. 5)
Trotzdem eine schöne Erinnerung an frühe Leseerlebnisse, wie bei
oder
1.Satz - Es ist schon lange her, da wurde fern in einem afrikanischen Urwalddorf ein Negerjunge geboren, der den Namen Nobi erhielt.
letzter - Die Erzählung war alt, aber das Geschehen blieb für die Neger jung, als wäre es gestern geschehen.
January 29, 2024
Any great children's book can be read at any age with awe, admiration and appreciation. Renn's Nobi is no exception to this.
Our main character Nobi is a lovely young boy - extremely compassionate, sensitive to injustices, reflective, kind to humans and animals alike. The villagers see him as someone with magical power because he can communicate with animals. He makes friends with members of the animal kingdom, and we (readers) have the privilege to learn about their mutual love and support through the marvellous language.
Nobi's magical power is not talking to animals (that's just a cleverly selected metaphor) but the ability to listen without judgement, to not yield to unreasonable fears or his moral integrity.
He, and his companions fight white slave dealers, who come to their continent in order to satisfy their need for wealth and power. The story illustrates the cruelty, irrationality, and injustice of slavery in a way that is extremely sensitive and hopeful.
Our main character Nobi is a lovely young boy - extremely compassionate, sensitive to injustices, reflective, kind to humans and animals alike. The villagers see him as someone with magical power because he can communicate with animals. He makes friends with members of the animal kingdom, and we (readers) have the privilege to learn about their mutual love and support through the marvellous language.
Nobi's magical power is not talking to animals (that's just a cleverly selected metaphor) but the ability to listen without judgement, to not yield to unreasonable fears or his moral integrity.
He, and his companions fight white slave dealers, who come to their continent in order to satisfy their need for wealth and power. The story illustrates the cruelty, irrationality, and injustice of slavery in a way that is extremely sensitive and hopeful.
January 5, 2022
An old children's book of a slightly different kind. First edition 1955, mine is probably from the late 60s (the title has been changed).
This is about Nobi, an African boy and what he experiences at the time of the slave hunters. Nobi has the gift that all people and animals are kind to him and uses it to do good. He frees slaves, with the help of his animal friends, and brings peace to his land.
A very well written and special book, which one would not have expected from that time. It illustrates the brutality of the slave hunters and does not portray the African natives as inferior, as I have seen in other books from this time.
A good children's book that sensitively portrays a significant point in history.
This is about Nobi, an African boy and what he experiences at the time of the slave hunters. Nobi has the gift that all people and animals are kind to him and uses it to do good. He frees slaves, with the help of his animal friends, and brings peace to his land.
A very well written and special book, which one would not have expected from that time. It illustrates the brutality of the slave hunters and does not portray the African natives as inferior, as I have seen in other books from this time.
A good children's book that sensitively portrays a significant point in history.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews