European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 03, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Is photos by Gus Schuettler one participant whips away the evil spirits while others tease the crowd. All Are wearing wooden masks carved by one of about 10 mask makers. The fool s Guild limits production of new masks each year. � " a i i  a r # Fth to a Asci ii 1 members of the Parade tease the crowd with some furry Long reaching poles. A Bell Laden reveler chats with a member of the crowd. 20-Day jail sentence. The employee called the police and by the time the first Darren sprung started the Man was in jail according to the Schwa Bische Zeitung a local newspaper. Even though Fasnet is rooted in roman Catholic religious tradition it spread to predominantly protestant cities and is highly secular today. But it still serves a purpose beyond simply kicking out the Winter jams. One of them is to make fun of the mistakes local politicians have made during the previous year. That s Why the earliest documented mention of the Rothweil Fasnet dated 1546, consists of an attempt to ban it. Fasnacht always was a thing the authorities had trouble with Hecht said. The fools told those in charge of the government what they  even if town leaders could figure out who was behind the mask which often was t difficult they could do Little about it tradition granted the fools the right to criticize the big shots and they even did it although carefully during the 1930s, when the nazis were in Power Hecht said. That criticism still takes place today in a style borrowed from italian carnivals. Between parades the fools approach people in restaurants on the Street and in their Homes showing them fool s books that contain nothing but drawings. Then using the drawings As reference Points they Tell satirical stories that mock local leaders. That s when they Tell the people their fellow citizens and spectators what got done wrong and How it really should have been done said Hecht who also participates. The Basic Story line is always the same but it gets presented and interpreted somewhat differently depending on the audience and the  this tradition also helps explain Why the Rothweil Fasnet seems More subdued than its counterparts in the lower Rhine Valley. Down Here you la find a lot fewer or almost no drunks and things like that Hecht said. It s accepted among us that while a fool possibly might drink a Glass of wine he s got to be All there mentally or else he can t produce what people expect of  Fasnet also serves As a Celebration of one s Homeland so Alt the stories Are told in the local swabian dialect. Northern germans who attend often can t understand what s being said More because of the dialect than the esoteric subject matter. All the same they come and they stand in the bitter cold of a Hill country Winter morning to watch the festivities. So do Many foreigners including americans. Hotels across the entire Region Are booked solidly several months in Advance. Rothweil s character has changed several times since the Fasnet tradition began. The Region was very poor in the mid-19th Century when Many locals emigrated to the United states. The German Empire encouraged the development of the arms Industry there later so Rothweil became a Gunpowder production site. That stopped when world War ii ended in 1945, when Rothweil had about 13,000 people. Now a town of about 2 5,000, Rothweil is an administrative and service Center. Data processing and Piston manufacture Are two of the chief industries. Many italians turks and other minorities live there. Some of their children having grown up with the swabian dialect even perform As fools. Through All those metamorphoses however the local Fasnet and the fool s leap have remained relatively unchanged. Asked Why the event has t grown larger the Way Rothweil itself has Hecht said the fool s Guild which pays for the event almost entirely from its own membership dues wants to preserve the form of the Parade As much As possible. The second reason is that we think Quantity does t exactly mean Quality he said. That s Why assured of that comfortable framework for their frivolity rottweilers still can say Alles a lies Hoch und Nieder for Tutsich Aurdie Fasnet wider. Everything everything High and Low looks Forward to Fasnet again " february 3, 1994 stripes Magazine 13