The German expressionist Ernst Toller was imprisoned for a long time due to his participation in the post-war Munich Soviet Republic (Die Münchner Räterepublik). During his imprisonment, during 1920 and 1921, he wrote Hinkemann, a tragedy in three acts.
Ivan Hinkemann returned from the First World War with an injury, which severely affected him − his penis was literally shot off in the battlefield. However, for Hinkemann accepting his social position was far more difficult than physical castration. The consequences of the war destroyed his youthful ideals and at the same time, opened up a completely different view of the world, of the social systems, ideologies, and even that of personal happiness.