The farce Der Bockerer (“Bockerer”), written in cooperation with Peter Preses, was one of Ulrich Becher’s biggest successes. Written during Becher’s exile in New York, the work was originally to be called Neidinger, but the name was changed following accusations of plagiarism by Friedrich Torberg. Der Bockerer was published by Verlag Sexl, Vienna, in 1947. One year later, the work was premiered at the Scala theatre in Vienna, one reason more for Ulrich Becher to return to Europe. The series of vignettes from the life of Viennese butcher Karl Bockerer during the Nazi era became a resounding success. The various attitudes towards Nazism expressed by an SA member, a female admirer of Hitler, a Jewish friend and a Communist railway worker invite the audience to examine their own position. Although Karl Bockerer, the main protagonist, does not bow to the cult of the Führer, his closest family pay homage to Adolf Hitler. This contradicts the story that Austria was Hitler’s first victim. Der Bockerer was performed in theatres for many years, and a film version was also made. In 1982, actor Adolf Laimböck, who played the main role in the production at Nationaltheater Mannheim, wrote to Ulrich Becher as follows: “Thanks to ‘Bockerer’, this last year has been the highlight of my acting career to date. [...] I play the role of Bockerer with unabated enthusiasm, and I find that your character is no longer a role but has completely merged with my own being.” After Ulrich Becher’s death, director Franz Antel filmed sequels to Bockerer which were completely out of line with Becher’s and Prese’s intentions. However, later performances at the Austrian State Theatre and Theater in der Josefstadt remained true to Becher’s original meaning.

Further literature:
Alfred Stary: Der Bockerer. Von der kritischen Posse zur ‚Nationalliteratur‘. In: Quarto. Zeitschrift des Schweizerischen Literaturarchivs. Ulrich Becher, 2009, 29, S. 76-80.