Der Kampf der Tertia (1929)

The story takes place on a tidal island in the North Sea and in the small North German coastal town of Boestrum on the nearby mainland. The focus is on the third-year class on the Hallig, with its sports-loving, bright and very lively boys. The class’s only girl is the determined Daniela, a wiry Amazon who is skilled with a bow and arrow and has become the boys’ leader through her tough, tomboyish manner. She is never absent from any adventure or even the wildest undertaking, and has earned the respect—and at times even the fear—of her classmates. One day, Daniela, angry that her classmates have not elected her “chief” despite her giving her all in every way, simply because she is a girl, goes too far, and the boys in the class ostracize her. Clearly hurt, Daniela withdraws from the class and barricades herself in a sandcastle surrounded by barbed wire. When the Boestrum town council makes a brutal decision, the outraged third-years all band together and sound the call to attack. They take on the authorities and the Boestrum town boys who support them. The town councillor Benno Biersack, for reasons that are not entirely altruistic, intends to tackle a supposed cat infestation. Biersack wants nothing less than to kill all the cats and process their pelts. The stated pretext is the fight against rabies. The cat-hater offers 20 pfennigs for every cat handed in. The outraged third-years decide to launch a counter-campaign. At night they sneak into Boestrum and paint the words “Be kind to animals!” on the walls. One pupil is indeed arrested by a police sergeant, but his classmates soon manage to free him. The third-years also begin systematically collecting the cats to save them from a violent death. Finally, they seize Biersack’s ship and take the town councillor prisoner. Suddenly, rival local high school students appear, unwilling to give up the bounty for catching cats. A vicious brawl breaks out between the two groups of pupils, and it is only settled when Daniela plunges into the fray with her two enormous Great Danes and her courage, causing the town students to flee. The third-years’ struggle culminates in a protest outside the town hall, which leads to the council’s decision being rescinded.