Fratricide in the oxbow lake

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Fratricide in the Altwasser is a short story by Georg Britting from 1929 . The text is generally considered to be one of the earliest short stories in Germany.

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It tells the story of the three Hofberger boys (11, 12 and 13 years old) who often play on the backwater of the Danube . Once they come to a large pond and get into an old fishing boat there. They row the boat onto the pond. When the youngest brother sets foot on the edge of the boat, the other two try to scare him. You suddenly throw yourself onto his side of the boat, causing him to fall overboard and drown. The two older brothers return home disturbed and agree not to tell their parents about it - as always after their pranks.

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It is known from this short story that the brothers play on the Danube. When they walk back to their parents, they see the cathedral . These indications strongly suggest that the parents live near Regensburg . Georg Britting was also born in Regensburg. Nowadays there is a street near Regensburg called "Zum Altwasser". There is a pond next to the Danube, which is no longer directly connected to the main arm.

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