literature
Karl-May-Verlag: Have benefited from the Winnetou debate
In the summer, there were sometimes heated discussions about cultural appropriation and racism surrounding Winnetou. photo
© picture alliance / dpa
In the summer, a heated debate raged about Winnetou. Karl-May-Verlag now looks back on it with some distance. The controversy has developed into a positive marketing campaign, it is said.
According to its own statements, the Karl May publishing house benefited from the Winnetou debate. “A survey has shown that at least 70 percent of Germans stand behind Karl May and Winnetou. The whole thing has also developed into a positive marketing campaign and has given a strong boost to the sale of the “Winnetou” books,” said the publisher when asked by dpa with. He did not initially give exact sales figures.
In the summer, a sometimes violent debate about cultural appropriation and racism raged around Winnetou. It came about after a publisher had withdrawn two companion books to a new Winnetou film for children. Some then sensed exaggerated criticism of traditional materials.
In retrospect, the Karl May publishing house is happy about the discussion, as he further announced. “For some people, a negative image of Karl May has subliminally developed for some time and he was accused, for example, of disregarding the genocide of the Indians in his work.” A glance at the foreword of “Winnetou I” would suffice to see that this is absolutely not true.
In the future, the publisher would be happy if people first dealt with Karl May and his work before commenting on social media about what had happened in many cases, it said.