Klassiker im Deutschunterricht
all the classics you might (have had to) read in school in Germany
created by Cataleyla
last updated July, 2026
Comments
Don't mind me using this as an opportunity to update my 'Finished' books😅
This list has 0% overlap for me because I took other editions of the books for my library 😭 (maybe I should change that)
Tbh I did not look at the editions at all, just which titles I did read in school😅 read is read imo :)
how dare you. bringing me back to this Leidenszeit. 😔
I see a lot of books I never wanted to see in my entire life again 😔 but hey at least they are the reclam books
Omg same. Seeing the Reclam books brings back such bad memories 😭
We never had the reclam books so I don’t connect something negative with them but just the titles make me want to scream (I wrapped every book I had to read in paper to make it look cooler and so I wouldn’t see the title 😭)
didn't even want to HEAR about them...alas 🥲
this is a nightmare
it truly is, in my mind PB is all rainbows and unicorns—THIS IS NOT IT
Hahaha it's a love and hate relationship for me
well good for you, cataleyla, good for you! 😭
Oh no 🫣🫣🫣 the Reclam-trauma
Some more I had to read in school: Leben des Galilei - Bertolt Brecht Andorra - Max Frisch Some my friends had to read: Der Besuch der alten Dame - Friedrich Dürrenmatt
I don't quite know if you would consider these classics, since they are not that old, but I also read these in school: Der Trafikant - Robert Seethaler Tschick - Wolfgang Herrndorf
From this list I also had to read: Nathan der Weise Woyzeck Der Schimmelreiter
Such a nostalgic list, thank you :)
Thanks! I'll add them :)
oof, this list brings back memories 🙈🙈 may i also suggest Brecht's Der gute Mensch von Sezuan, Fontane's Irrungen, Wirrungen, and Dürrenmatt's Die Physiker? OH and i just remembered Kleist's Der zerbrochene Krug 😬 also, this isn't necessarily a recommendation, since it isn't a classic, but did anyone else have to read Arno Geiger's Unter der Drachenwand?? because i did and i feel like i've never seen anyone else talk about it
I didn’t have to read Unter der Drachenwand, but I wanna know if anyone had to read Imperium by Christian Kracht, which also is not a classic 👀
never heard of it and i just looked it up and ??? it sounds so weird and it's historical fiction?? what the heck oh my god 😂😂
it's such a weird book, i might do a re-read just for funsies and then post an extensive review of it on here, that sounds like an idea actually
while reading i always thought i knew where this book is going but i never did
one of the weirdest books i've read
oh my god, please do, i would love to hear how unhinged it is 😂😂 honestly it's kind of piquing my interest right now, i'll have to see if i can find a copy of it anywhere 👀
your wish is my command 🫡
I heard the short explaination of Die Physiker by a queer person which sounds just so weird and hilarious.
I would also add Die Verwandlung by Franz Kafka Krabat by Otfried Preußler And if you are also okay with adding “newer” books I would recommend these (they aren’t classics but I do think they are quite popular in German lessons nowadays): Herr der Diebe by Cornelia Funke Erebos by Ursula Poznanski (I read “Der kleine Hobbit” and “Herr der Ringe: Die Gefährten” in my lessons so they don’t count 💀)
Taugenichts, the absolute waste of time you were 💭
More classics (available in the reclam look) i encountered: Effi Briest - Theodor Fontane Mathilde Möhring - Theodor Fontane Die Jungfrau von Orleans - Friedrich Schiller Iphigenie auf Tauris - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Das Gold von Caxamalca - Jakob Wassermann Erzählungen - Franz Kafka
Great, thanks! 😊
Oh no, Der Besuch der alten Dame is catching up 😮💨🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️
i've read that one too 🫥
We rad it in 8th grade and imo 13-14 year old teenagers don’t have the necessary reading comprehension to grasp this book 😮💨 I hear that people actually like it but all of us just found it boring as hell 🫣
I plan on reading it because the concept sounds just so ... I just need to read it.
But I agree that teenagers (mostly) just can't grasp why some classics are amazing because some lived experience was just missing and they HAD to read these books. Reading classics as a choice is fun tho.
being forced to read something makes you automatically less enjoy it imo 🫠 ESPECIALLY as a teenager in school 💀
A few more I remember: Mephisto by Klaus Mann Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum by Heinrich Böll Die Blechtrommel by Günther Grass Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse Der Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
We also had to read "Vor Sonnenaufgang" (such a fever dream, I think everybody had relations with everybody) and "Maria Stuart" by Schiller (I actually quite liked that one) :)
