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Stirlitz, again...
Found while cleaning out a wiki:
The Stirlitz saga concerns the adventures, near the end of World War II in Berlin, of a Soviet colonel of intelligence (Maksim Isaev) who is masquerading as an SS officer - Max Otto von Stirlitz - in the German high command. In the story he works for Walther Schellenberg, a historically real figure who was head of foreign intelligence, and is the focus of scrutiny by the eternally suspicious Heinrich Müller, another real-life Nazi who was head of the Gestapo.
The story's punch line - that moment where the listener is yanked hard-a-port, so to speak - evokes a delicious moment of cognitive dissonance, because what Müller says is both unexpected (strange to say, something expected of a punch line), but also the typical response of upper Soviet managers to excuses proffered by subordinates trying to get out of a "subbotnik"!
A minor theme that is supported by the story is one that runs through much of the Stirlitz body of humor: Nothing Stirlitz does, no matter how stupid, will ever cause him to be found out.
Cheers...
Мюллер вызывает Штирлица и говорит: "Завтра субботник, явка обязательна". Штирлиц отвечает "Есть" и, поняв, что провалился, садится писать повинную: "Я, штандартенфюрер Штирлиц на самом деле являюсь советским разведчиком". Мюллер, прочитав этот рапорт, звонит Шеленбергу: "Вальтер, зайдите, посмотрите что ваши люди придумывают, чтобы на суботник не идти"You know you've flopped as a story-teller when you have to start explaining 'em, but on the other hand, finding humor in Stirlitz jokes is no easy task for non-Russians who have never been exposed to the story line.
Müller calls Stirlitz into his office and says, "We're having a Communist-style Saturday cleanup tomorrow. Attendance is mandatory." Stirlitz answers "Yes, sir!" and realizes he has given himself away as a Soviet agent. He sits down and writes a confession: "I, SS-Standartenführer Stirlitz, am in actuality a Soviet intelligence operative." After reading this document, Müller picks up the phone and calls Shellenberg. "Walther, could you please come by my office and look at the kinds of shenanigans your people will pull in order to get out of a Saturday cleanup?"
The Stirlitz saga concerns the adventures, near the end of World War II in Berlin, of a Soviet colonel of intelligence (Maksim Isaev) who is masquerading as an SS officer - Max Otto von Stirlitz - in the German high command. In the story he works for Walther Schellenberg, a historically real figure who was head of foreign intelligence, and is the focus of scrutiny by the eternally suspicious Heinrich Müller, another real-life Nazi who was head of the Gestapo.
The story's punch line - that moment where the listener is yanked hard-a-port, so to speak - evokes a delicious moment of cognitive dissonance, because what Müller says is both unexpected (strange to say, something expected of a punch line), but also the typical response of upper Soviet managers to excuses proffered by subordinates trying to get out of a "subbotnik"!
A minor theme that is supported by the story is one that runs through much of the Stirlitz body of humor: Nothing Stirlitz does, no matter how stupid, will ever cause him to be found out.
Cheers...
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