On the death of the illustrator Janosch: About the happiness of being a little different

Obituary Janosch died at the age of 95 From the happiness of being a little different Status: November 4th, 2026 • 12:15 p.m

He created the little tiger and the little bear, let Uncle Popov fly and taught millions of children Schnuddelbuddel's wisdom: "Whoever reads this no longer needs to be afraid of anything." Now Janosch has died.

Anyone who wanted to find Janosch in his late years had to go on a journey. And have patience. A bit like the little tiger and the little bear who set out on their journey to Panama. Because Janosch, who let millions of children travel around the world with his hairy protagonists, had himself withdrawn from the world. He had sought refuge and found it on the Canary Island of Tenerife. There, somewhere in the barren hinterland, between rocks and agaves, stood his red house. Not small, not big, maybe a little crooked.

And when Janosch stepped out onto his terrace, his mustache twirled, his sea-blue eyes flashing beneath his wild eyebrows, anyone who knew him might think of Uncle Popov, the loner who doesn't speak much but can fly a little.

Janosch could also fly, in his stories, with the pictures he created, the words he chose. He himself saw it a little more pragmatically, for example when, when asked about the creation of his children's book "Oh, how beautiful is Panama," he explained to the reporter: "I wanted to make a kitsch book and there are a few rules. There has to be a cuddly bear, the bear has to go on a trip and then it has to have a friend and the women start crying."

Janosch wanted to make children resilient with his stories.

In fact, it was a rocky, arduous path that Janosch had to take to become a celebrated artist and writer. Born in Upper Silesia as the son of an alcoholic father who, in order to ingratiate himself with the Nazis, had him baptized with the name "Horst" - after the SA Sturmführer Horst Wessel.

The mother is a strict believer, as if frozen in the fear of God. Janosch's childhood was marked by physical and mental abuse, be it from his parents, classmates or Jesuit priests. “Being born Catholic is the biggest accident of my life,” Janosch once said. And coming to terms with this trauma runs through many of his books.

The inventor of the tiger duck influenced generations of children. Janosch describes his own childhood as “hell”. more

After the end of the Second World War he fled with his parents to Lower Saxony. Janosch later began studying art in Munich, which he ultimately had to abandon because of what was said to be his "lack of talent." As a result, he made a living as a freelance artist. The man with the mustache finally achieved his breakthrough in 1978 with the book “Oh, how beautiful is Panama,” which has since found millions of readers.

Dozens of titles have followed since then, picture books for children and novels for adults. His tiger duck became a trademark as well as a marketing success. However, Janosch himself repeatedly described the little tiger's striped companion as "kitsch". To the end he denied that he had become rich through his writings, drawings and figures. Maybe because anarchy was closer to his heart than commerce until the end.

In a radio interview Janosch once said:

In 2010, Janosch, then 79 years old, announced that he no longer wanted to write any more books. From then on he only wanted to “travel and lie in the hammock” and he generally considered himself untalented. He withdrew completely to his home in Tenerife and public appearances became rarer.

Writer Janosch dies at the age of 95 Jenni Rieger, SWR, tagesschau, Das Erste, November 4th, 2026 • 5:00 p.m. Wisdom of life from "Mr. Janosch" In 2013, Janosch was persuaded again to write a column for Zeit magazine. There he gave advice, wisdom and aphorisms as "Mr. Janosch". From his little island he looked at the hustle and bustle of the world with great wisdom.

One question he was asked in this column was: "Mr. Janosch, how do you say goodbye?" And Janosch, the magician, the man of the shaky lines and the right words, answered in his own way: "You turn around with a tear in your eye and say: 'I'll go then'."

This topic in the program: tagesschau24 | News | November 4, 2026 | 11:00 a.m