For in the forest, there are the robbers? Yes, and much more - the forest is full of figures and stories. From Hermann the Cheruscan, the first Germanic hero in the forest, to Hansel and Gretel and the German fairy tales and myths, to the post-war forest films and the dying of the forest - or the phenomena that were thought to be responsible for it. Since time immemorial, the forest has been both beautiful and eerie. Especially in Germany, the forest plays a special role as a cultural motif. In every era, the forest is reinterpreted: The romantic, poetic soul around 1800 loves the forest for its splendor. The Nazis idealize and instrumentalize it as a German living space. Today, we protect it for the global CO2 balance.