Peter-Ernst Eiffe
Encyclopedia
Peter-Ernst Eiffe also known as "Eiffe, der Bär" (German for 'Eiffe, the bear') was probably the first Graffiti
artist in Germany. During the German student movement
of May 1968, he distributed his messages all over Hamburg
and became also known for entering the central station
of Hamburg with a Fiat 600
. On this occasion he was arrested and after a depression in 1970 retained in a psychiatric institution. Trying to escape from there in December 1982, he froze to death. His life was documented in a 1995 film with the title Eiffe for President - Alle Ampeln auf Gelb (Eiffe for president, all traffic lights to yellow), named after one of his famous graffitis.
period. His grand-grand father was senator for construction with an important street in Hamburg still being named after him.
After his Abitur
, Eiffe became Leutnant
(reserve) of the Bundeswehr
. He then started to study Business administration but broke off after a few semesters.
For a certain period he worked at the statal statistical office in Hamburg. His superiors attested him above-average intelligence, but his career came to a halt for other motives. He decorated his work-place with a portrait
of Bismarck
and erotic photographs and insulted each morning the cleaning personal in French. Eventually he was fired in April 1968. Additionally, his wife left him together with their 18 month old daughter.
issued him a bill over 900 German mark
s for damages to their property, he answered by issuing them a bill of 900 marks for his artwork
Eiffe was also magically attracted by the student movement
. He was seen ever more frequently at student assemblies, dressed in a suit with white shirt and tie, pushing for the microphone and explaining his theories about the subversive power of the joke. His friend Fritz Teufel
nominated him as speaker for the May Day
campaign of the APO
in Berlin, where he announced under the cheers of thousands his desire to become the
chancellor of students and demonstrators. The microphone, however, was turned off before he could elaborate his political platform.
On May 30, 1968, he drove his car
with the slogan "Freie Eiffe-Republik" (Free Eiffe Republic) into the main hall of the central station
of Hamburg and started to decorate the tiles with triangles. He was quickly arrested, ushered away in handcuffs and taken under press coverage to the psychiatric hospital Hamburg-Ochsenzoll.
Shortly afterwards, a booklet with photos of his surrealistic graffiti was published by Uwe Wandrey and Peter Schütt. 3000 copied were sold, resulting in an honorary of 500 German mark
s for Eiffe.
and was hospitalized in the psychiatric hospital Rickling
in Schleswig-Holstein
. On December 24, 1982 he managed to escaped from there. Eventually, his dead body was found in March 1983 in a moorland close to Rickling.
Nevertheless, the fame of Peter-Ernst Eiffe being the first German graffiti
artist lived on. Christian Bau recalled his life in one-hour documentary film with the title Eiffe for president, alle Ampeln auf gelb, which was shown in 1996 in independent cinemas. The author Uwe Timm
included a number of Eiffe's sayings in the text of his novel "Heißer Sommer".
Note: This article contains translated text from the article Peter-Ernst Eiffe in the German-language Wikipedia.
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
artist in Germany. During the German student movement
German student movement
The German student movement was a protest movement that took place during the late 1960s in West Germany. It was largely a reaction against the perceived authoritarianism and hypocrisy of the German government and other Western governments, and the poor living conditions of students...
of May 1968, he distributed his messages all over Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and became also known for entering the central station
Hamburg Hauptbahnhof
is the Hauptbahnhof for the German city of Hamburg. It was opened in 1906 to replace 4 terminal stations. Hamburg Hauptbahnhof is operated by DB Station&Service...
of Hamburg with a Fiat 600
Fiat 600
The Fiat 600 is a city car produced by the Italian automaker Fiat from 1955 to 1969. Measuring only 3.22 m long, it was the first rear-engined Fiat and cost the equivalent of about € 6,700 or US$ 7300 in today's money . The total number produced from 1955 to 1969 at the Mirafiori...
. On this occasion he was arrested and after a depression in 1970 retained in a psychiatric institution. Trying to escape from there in December 1982, he froze to death. His life was documented in a 1995 film with the title Eiffe for President - Alle Ampeln auf Gelb (Eiffe for president, all traffic lights to yellow), named after one of his famous graffitis.
Early life
Eiffe grew up in Hamburg-Duvenstedt with adoptive parents. His adoptive father was senator for Berlinangelegenheiten (Berlin affairs) during the NaziNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
period. His grand-grand father was senator for construction with an important street in Hamburg still being named after him.
After his Abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
, Eiffe became Leutnant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
(reserve) of the Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
. He then started to study Business administration but broke off after a few semesters.
For a certain period he worked at the statal statistical office in Hamburg. His superiors attested him above-average intelligence, but his career came to a halt for other motives. He decorated his work-place with a portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
of Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
and erotic photographs and insulted each morning the cleaning personal in French. Eventually he was fired in April 1968. Additionally, his wife left him together with their 18 month old daughter.
1968
In this time of personal crisis, he became famous In Hamburg for scrawling and scribbling all over the city, using mailboxes, billboards, traffic signs and subway stations and leaving whenever possible his business card: Peter-Ernst Eiffe, Wandsbeker Chaussee 305, 2000 Hamburg 22, including the phone number. When the Hamburger HochbahnHamburger Hochbahn
Hamburger Hochbahn AG or HHA is a company operating the underground system and large parts of the bus system in Hamburg, Germany, founded in 1911 it is headquartered in Hamburg.-History:...
issued him a bill over 900 German mark
German mark
The Deutsche Mark |mark]], abbreviated "DM") was the official currency of West Germany and Germany until the adoption of the euro in 2002. It is commonly called the "Deutschmark" in English but not in German. Germans often say "Mark" or "D-Mark"...
s for damages to their property, he answered by issuing them a bill of 900 marks for his artwork
Eiffe was also magically attracted by the student movement
German student movement
The German student movement was a protest movement that took place during the late 1960s in West Germany. It was largely a reaction against the perceived authoritarianism and hypocrisy of the German government and other Western governments, and the poor living conditions of students...
. He was seen ever more frequently at student assemblies, dressed in a suit with white shirt and tie, pushing for the microphone and explaining his theories about the subversive power of the joke. His friend Fritz Teufel
Fritz Teufel
Fritz Teufel was a prominent figure in the West German political left of the 1960s. One of the founders of Kommune 1, Teufel cultivated a theatrical, humorous public image--encapsulated in his idea of the "Spaßguerilla" . In the 1970s he rejected this image and became involved with the violent...
nominated him as speaker for the May Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
campaign of the APO
Ausserparlamentarische Opposition
The Außerparlamentarische Opposition , was a political protest movement active in West Germany during the latter half of the 1960s and early 1970s, forming a central part of the German student movement...
in Berlin, where he announced under the cheers of thousands his desire to become the
chancellor of students and demonstrators. The microphone, however, was turned off before he could elaborate his political platform.
On May 30, 1968, he drove his car
Fiat 600
The Fiat 600 is a city car produced by the Italian automaker Fiat from 1955 to 1969. Measuring only 3.22 m long, it was the first rear-engined Fiat and cost the equivalent of about € 6,700 or US$ 7300 in today's money . The total number produced from 1955 to 1969 at the Mirafiori...
with the slogan "Freie Eiffe-Republik" (Free Eiffe Republic) into the main hall of the central station
Hamburg Hauptbahnhof
is the Hauptbahnhof for the German city of Hamburg. It was opened in 1906 to replace 4 terminal stations. Hamburg Hauptbahnhof is operated by DB Station&Service...
of Hamburg and started to decorate the tiles with triangles. He was quickly arrested, ushered away in handcuffs and taken under press coverage to the psychiatric hospital Hamburg-Ochsenzoll.
Shortly afterwards, a booklet with photos of his surrealistic graffiti was published by Uwe Wandrey and Peter Schütt. 3000 copied were sold, resulting in an honorary of 500 German mark
German mark
The Deutsche Mark |mark]], abbreviated "DM") was the official currency of West Germany and Germany until the adoption of the euro in 2002. It is commonly called the "Deutschmark" in English but not in German. Germans often say "Mark" or "D-Mark"...
s for Eiffe.
Later life and legacy
In November 1968 he was released from psychiatric care and found a job with a marketing agency in Düsseldorf. Nevertheless, in 1970 he suffered from a major clinical depressionClinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
and was hospitalized in the psychiatric hospital Rickling
Rickling
Rickling is a municipality in the district of Segeberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approx. 15 km southeast of Neumünster.Rickling is part of the Amt Boostedt-Rickling....
in Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
. On December 24, 1982 he managed to escaped from there. Eventually, his dead body was found in March 1983 in a moorland close to Rickling.
Nevertheless, the fame of Peter-Ernst Eiffe being the first German graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
artist lived on. Christian Bau recalled his life in one-hour documentary film with the title Eiffe for president, alle Ampeln auf gelb, which was shown in 1996 in independent cinemas. The author Uwe Timm
Uwe Timm
-Life and work:Uwe Timm was the youngest son in his family. His brother, 16 years his senior, was a soldier in the Waffen SS and died in Ukraine in 1943...
included a number of Eiffe's sayings in the text of his novel "Heißer Sommer".
External links
Note: This article contains translated text from the article Peter-Ernst Eiffe in the German-language Wikipedia.