Winnetou debate: Why I’m a fan and love the Karl May Festival

opinion

Shitstorm
I’m a huge Winnetou fan and love the Karl May Festival. And that will remain so

My first contact with the world of Winnetou was when I was five. Back then, my father told me about the fictional Indian chief, and I knew immediately: I wanted to see this film. Then the next and the next… it just kept going. My love for blood brothers Winnetou and Old Shatterhand was born. As soon as I could read, I got down to my father’s ancient Karl May editions. The writing was so small that it was difficult and slow to read, but even that didn’t deter me. I love the fantasy world of Karl May. For my enthusiasm it is important to understand that for me it is exactly that: a fantasy world. That’s exactly why I don’t understand the criticism of his works. Karl May never depicted reality, that is well known today. And yet the hero of my childhood has now caught a shitstorm. Some critics even accuse him of racism.

Karl May romanticizes the genocide of Native Americans, they write, for example on Twitter. Above all, the new children’s film “The Young Chief Winnetou” caused a stir. The film is full of clichés and plays down the violence that the indigenous population suffered at the hands of the white settlers. This criticism led to the Ravensburger Verlag withdrawing the publication of the associated children’s books.

I have to say quite frankly: I do not understand this criticism in relation to the world of Karl May.

Karl May was a great writer, not a racist

I cannot judge whether and how indigenous people feel discriminated against by Karl May’s fantasy worlds. But in the past few days, several have expressed themselves, including here at the star – for example Kendall Old Elk. He says he wished Mr May had done more research: “He wanted to create a hero, that’s okay, but it was without background research. Would the Germans be happy to be judged by the image that the world has had in the 1930s or 1940s?”

Of course, such a perspective also helps me, as a Karl May fan, to understand why May’s fiction can be viewed critically by those affected. As a reader, however, I judge this fictional world differently. For me, Karl May is a great writer, but not a racist. On the contrary.

May criticizes genocide and repression

Karl May himself was never in the USA at the time of the expulsion and genocide of the indigenous population. He wrote his books mainly using the stories of others and his overflowing imagination. I found many passages in his books where he criticized genocide and repression. May almost always describes white people as the bad guys in his stories.

The literary scholar Helmut Schmiedt also supports my view of the novels: “Karl May was neither a racist nor an anti-Semite.” But I think writers are allowed to do that, they produce fantasies and not scientific works.”

interview

Professor Helmut Schmiedt

Karl May’s biographer on the Winnetou debate: “He was neither a racist nor an anti-Semite”

21 hours ago

The criticism of the festival is exaggerated

I also don’t understand the criticism of the Karl May Festival. Nobody there wants to ridicule the traditions of indigenous people – because the theater is about the fictional world of Karl May, not reality.

I’ve been to the festival ten times, including this year. I love these festivals. It doesn’t matter where in the world I would be – I would always travel there for that. Anyone who has watched the festival knows how much is said between the lines and that the organizers don’t take themselves too seriously. Again and again there are allusions to the present in this fictional world, now even to climate change. These references show that the producers are not pretending to reenact the past. They merely interpret a book in a modern way and shape it into a play.

In any case, the event fascinates me every time, so one thing is certain for me: I will continue to go to Bad Segeberg to experience the exciting stories of the characters Winnetou and Old Shatterhand. Just as I have done for the past eight years of my life. And I would recommend everyone to read the books themselves.

This article has been supplemented with quotes from interviews on the subject.