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The Man Who Made A Country Believe Hansel and Gretel Was A True Story From History
One enterprising author manufactured a bounty of made-up archaeological evidence to help support his book, which was all turned out to be a prank
No matter where a person comes from, fairy tales play an important role. Used to entertain children, they also frequently contain life lessons despite their obviously fictitious origins. One of the most famous of these fables is the story of Hansel and Gretel; two children who supposedly escaped the clutches of a witch who lived in a house made out of gingerbread and planned to eat them. Incredibly, an elaborate hoax in the 1960s by a German author named Hans Traxler convinced his countrymen that he had found credible evidence that proved it was actually a true story.
The original story of Hansel and Gretel was published as part of the 1812 volume of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, a collection of fables published by Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm (The Brothers Grimm). In the story, two children belonging to a poor woodcutter in Germany get lost and fall into the clutches of a wealthy evil cannibalistic witch with designs to eat the siblings. At first, they are captivated by her cottage made from candy, gingerbread and other treats, and her attempts to fatten…
