The 44th Congress of the German Donaldists is taking place this weekend in Frankfurt am Main. The “German organization of non-commercial supporters of loud Donaldism” (DONALD for short), which was co-founded by a climate researcher in 1977, is intensively researching the town of Duckburg and its inhabitants. The Braunschweig master electrician Uwe Wackerhagen, 68, also takes part in the meeting.
SZ: Mr. Wackerhagen, you have been dealing with Duckburg for several decades. Is your hobby a kind of escape from the world?
Uwe Wackerhagen: Not at all. What connects me with the approximately 130 other Donaldists who are coming together this weekend at Frankfurt’s Goethe University is, on the one hand, love and, on the other hand, a great deal of expertise, which is what the many hundreds of Donald Ducks created by Carl Barks since the 1940s – Reports are concerned. In our gatherings we look at it from very different perspectives.
How is your meeting going?
There is an official part, where lectures are held, a part for regulations and also tourist offers – with joint excursions and the relatives collective, i.e. meetings of accompanying persons.
Your companions are mostly female?
Correct. On the other hand, the number of active female Donaldists is very manageable.
How do you explain that?
Apparently comics are more for men. Anyway, we really feel very united by our passion. I discovered Carl Barks’ comics as a child. In 1965 during a completely rainy trip with my parents to the Alps.
Well, but that was almost 60 years ago now. They are grown up now and…
Donaldism is a source of never-ending bliss. I still have Donald Duck volumes on my bedside table to this day, and I admire the attention to detail, such as on power poles.
Mr. Wackerhagen. What kind of lectures are you giving in Frankfurt?
We deal with all possible aspects. People of all stripes take part in our congresses, academics and workers. There are biologists, pharmacists, craftsmen, teachers, dentists, publicists, civil servants, politicians, printers. The aspect of craftsmanship in the Donald Duck comics plays a role in the discussions, and the question of why there are sinks in Duckburg but no toilets. Everyone contributes something from their area of expertise. One even went to the trouble of making an accurate map of Duckburg from all the information that could be gleaned from Barks’ picture stories. Including Fort Flytrutz and the mail rocket launch pad.
Ente Gelände: City map of Duckburg.
(Photo: Jürgen Wollina/DONALD)
Oh I see. And what do you lecture about, as a master electrician?
With the help of several drawings, I have already been able to clearly demonstrate that Duckburg has both direct and alternating current. The mains voltage is 313 volts.
313 is the number on the license plate of Donald’s car.
Correct. For Donaldists, 13 is a tremendously interesting number. That’s why I’m delighted to be the 13th Honorary President of our organization.
Presidente is a portmanteau of president and duck, isn’t it?
Yes. This time in Frankfurt I will pursue the question of whether the Duckburg Minster is actually a sacred building. In contrast to a theologian from Graz, who also attends our meetings, I suspect it is more of a remnant of the Duckburg World Exhibition.
Mr. Wackerhagen. Are you really sure that you and your organization recognize the current signs of the times? Recently there had been legitimate debates about “dwarf Indians” and African zombies in the comics. Also about the translations of Dr. Erica Fuchs.
You have to deal with that too! After the fact, however, as publishers do, changing texts in the speech bubbles or deleting entire stories – we reject that. These comics were created at a certain time, we warn against censorship, but we also don’t want to be hitched to the cart of any right-wing extremists. This completely rules out the peaceful Duckburg approach that we advocate. Comments are fine.
And will you once again sing the anthem “The sentimental cowboy” allegedly composed by Donald Duck himself?
Of course. And to come back to your initial question about flight from the world: when someone flees, it is usually the other people who are sitting with us in the inn – exactly at that moment.
More episodes of the SZ series “A call to …” can be found here.