Nußknacker (transliterated into English as Nussknacker) is German for Nutcracker, wooden dolls used to crack open the shells of nuts. These wooden dolls were usually designed to resemble soldiers, kings or knights. They would have a large mouth with a lower jaw that could be moved by means of a lever on the doll's back or in its arm. The hard-shelled nut would be placed into the mouth and the lever moved to crack the nutshell. The Nutcracker dolls were originally created in the forested regions of modern-day Germany.