The debate about “Winnetou” does not stop: Various people argue that the books and films would commercialize the culture of the Apache tribes and paint a romanticized picture with trivializing clichés. A petition from the Karl May Society and the Karl May Foundation on the other hand, defends the Winnetou material – and thus meets with approval: As of this Monday (as of August 29, 3 p.m.), more than 8,600 supporters* have already signed the open letter “Is Winnetou done?”.
Karl May was also a child of his time
It asks for a differentiated view: Karl May, as a German writer of the 19th century, was inevitably shaped by the habitus of a colonial age. According to the authors, ethnic stereotypes that were common at the time and a Eurocentric perspective can be found in his early works in particular. Karl May shares his contemporary world view with practically all authors of the past.
The narrator’s sympathy on the part of the Apaches
What sets Karl May apart from most of his colleagues: In his depiction of the so-called Wild West, the narrator’s sympathy was with the suffering indigenous population from the start. Their dignity and human qualities are embodied in ideal figures such as Winnetou, the Apache chief, the letter said. Among other things, the petition quotes from the volume “Winnetou, the Red Gentleman” published in 1893: “It is undisputed that the land they inhabited belonged to them; it was taken from them.”
Karl May, an “educator on tolerance and cosmopolitanism”
Racist language, religious intolerance and contempt for non-European cultures, on the other hand, are consistently characteristic of Karl May’s negatively drawn antagonists. “As a result, the author undoubtedly worked as an educator on tolerance and cosmopolitanism among his mostly young readership over several generations,” say the authors.